


So stoked

by Mellilla_Williams



Category: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Movies)
Genre: Age Difference, Alex has a cousin, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Boners, F/M, Falling In Love, Idiots in Love, Jealousy, Movie: Jumanji: The Next Level (2019), Movie: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), Mutual Pining, Older Man/Younger Woman, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28658028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mellilla_Williams/pseuds/Mellilla_Williams
Summary: Tells the story of how Alex and Bethany's relationship grows and blossoms during the year between her escaping Jumanji and going back in
Relationships: Alex Vreeke/Bethany Walker, Bethany - Relationship
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	1. The dam has broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Follows what happens to Bethany and Alex after meeting in front of freak house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's sad and desperate and messy but it's happy-go-lucky after this one, I promise.

Alex couldn't stay there, at his father's house. He was supposed to, hell, they'd brought a Christmas tree and everything but he couldn't. Not after seeing the strange group of teens on his street. Not after being reunited with _his Bethany._

He'd barely managed to keep his composure long enough to not ravage the girl when she stood there in front of him. She'd appeared out of nowhere but he'd recognized her instantly, like her soul was reaching for his, calling for him, asking him to seek a stronger connection.

But hell, how could he? She was half his age. He used to dream that one day they'd meet again and become what they could've had they'd escaped to same point in time in real life. She would've been a year older than him but it would've been _fine._ But this? How could this ever be _fine_?

When he'd come out of the game, aged sixteen it had been him against the world, so much anger running through his veins. He'd been angry about the game, his life, everything. He'd longed for this, this _angelic_ girl. She'd been Shelly when they'd met, but when she saved his life he saw her, the real her, golden curls, blue eyes, smiling and crying happy tears, radiating. He'd held on to that image for twenty years and today was the day he'd been proven correctly; that the image he'd received when he'd almost died had not been an angel, it had been her.

But when you live without someone for twenty years, well, you grow weak. In his late twenties he'd met a woman who'd been semi pretty and they'd gotten careless and she'd become pregnant. And he'd married her because it was the right thing to do, and she'd gotten pregnant again because hell, even if they despised each other, he loved those kids and she had tried to, too. And then she'd left, ran off with someone else. Alex wasn't sure Andy was even _his_ , but god did he love the little boy. He didn't have to know whether Andy was his to know that the baby fit in his life and they belonged together. And even if Bethany wouldn't have him, at least he would never be alone.

God, he'd named his daughter after her. To remind himself what a failure he was, when he hadn't waited for her. And also to have at least some constant reminder of the woman he'd once met and truly loved. Some of the last years had been chaos and he'd almost been driven insane by the waiting. So worried if his re-appearance had created a time loop. That Bethany and the others would never find the game and then what? They wouldn't remember him? He'd cease to exist?

He'd gotten sure of one thing over the years though, more prevalent this year than ever. A growing fear that had been poisoning his mind, fear that had caused him to lose countless of nights sleeps. That because he had aged and she had not, there was no way she was gonna want him. That in this body, the age he was, he'd be nothing but a creep in her eyes.

And indeed there she had been standing today, out of nowhere, on a regular Tuesday in December, incredibly unexpected and incredibly beautiful and so, so _young._ His breath had hitched in his throat and he'd instantly walked up to her. It had taken every single ounce of self-control not to go through with what surely could've been counted as _sexual assault_ and _kidnapping._

He had wanted to kiss her. So badly, he had wanted to grab her body against his and press his lips against her, explore every inch of her with his fingers, kiss her neck, her chest, make her beg for him to not stop, and to take her into his car and drive far away, so far they'd never be found, and it'd be them against world, pure love and passion, and-

Then he'd remembered he was twice her age, was carrying _a baby seat_ for Christ's sake, and was surrounded by a group of curious faces. Going on a never-ending road trip, the endless sex and the escapism of it? It was nothing but a fantasy of a teenager.

Bethany hadn't been the only one to recognize him although she'd been the only one to look at him like she'd experienced a broken heart. What had she expected? What had _he_? He hadn't waited for her, and god, he wanted to explain it to her. Explain that his family had formed by an accident by a one night stand with some random woman he'd hated the whole time they'd been together, and that if he could've chosen to not age, he would've. But how could he even begin to explain something like that?

Alas, they'd all just swapped numbers, exchanged pleasantries. And then the group had left, and he'd just been stuck there, looking after them, wanting more than anything to run after her, to touch her all over. To take her to his car and just drive. Drive away somewhere safe where it was peaceful and quiet and no one else around, and stay there with her, talking, kissing, touching, making love, but he had to be realistic. Would a girl her age, a girl that looked like _that,_ more out of his league than he could've ever managed to believe, want him? He doubted. No matter how this thing could've played out between them, she would've still been out of his reach.

Once she'd disappeared out of his sight he'd almost collapsed. He couldn't stay at his father's. No, he had to get the hell out of there so he took a shaky breath and told his dad, hey, something came up at work, he has to go. He'd been an empty shell when he'd gone inside and kissed his kids goodbye, like a robot.

He'd gotten into his car, alone, and driven back to his house. Except the house was filled with memories of him and his kids and even Sarah, and the thought suffocated him further. He had to get _away._ And so he'd driven almost out of town, parked his car on the side of the road and just stopped _there_.

And he cried. He cried for the first time in years, allowed himself to let all the feelings loose and to feel sorry for himself. Just for a moment he allowed himself to be human, allowed himself to just be _Alex._ Allowed himself to lay out the trauma from twenty years ago, the pain of growing up and old without _her._ The pain of a failed marriage with the entirely wrong person, the worst person to possibly be married to, and he screamed, and he shouted and howled, and grasped his own shirt to pry it away from his skin because it made him feel like he was drowning, pulled under water.

It went on for two complete hours until his cries became so hoarse they were barely audible. Until he ran out of tears and his eyes burned and were red and puffy and he looked and felt disgusting. Until his stomach ached from the screaming and his lungs were on fire. He was completely spent and he almost burst into an inaudible, tearless cry once more when he remembered; he wasn't _just_ Alex. He was a father now. But for the first time since Beth had been born he was so fucking exhausted of it all he had to text his dad sorry, I can't do it, that he'll come back tomorrow.

And whether his dad understood it or not, he was an accepting man. He was a good grandfather and a good father and told Alex to go home and rest. And Alex did that, numb and spent. How he managed to drive home was a mystery; how he managed to drag himself inside and crash on the sofa he didn't know, but when he did, he fell asleep within seconds.

When he awoke a few hours later he didn't feel better at all but forced himself to go drink something. Not one, not two but three pints of cold water satisfied his thirst. He undressed himself and sat down on the shower floor, because sitting down and letting the water drip over him was better than not showering at all.

When the warm water hit his back and washed away the old tears and the tension in his back he cried some more. The damn had been broken and what had been an explosion had become a stream of thoughts and tears.

***

Bethany had never been more glad the house was empty when she got home. She broke down the second she set foot inside, bag forgotten on the floor, jacket abandoned next to it. Shaking and numb she dragged her body in her room and looked in the mirror.

She looked at herself, her thin figure, soft skin, no beard and no stomach rolls. Boobs. _No penis._ All the flaws she used to think she had, erased. It was like she'd matured years but didn't look any older. But her eyes had been opened, and she realized three things.

One, that looks, while nice, weren't absolutely everything.

Two, she had nothing to be self-conscious about.

Three, she'd been performing so much for social media, faking _all_ of it and for what? Likes?

From that moment on she pledged that she would put more effort into things that really mattered, like improving herself, friends, outdoors, _Alex,_ and less to feeble things like social media likes. She took one last photo, smiling through her tears.

When she put the phone down, she allowed herself to think about everything she'd suppressed after coming out of the game. The fear of dying, the thrill of the adrenaline. The fat body she'd been in, the cute pilot she had met. The cute 40-year-old with kids she'd met shortly after.

It was almost too much, how much he'd changed. Bethany didn't know what she'd expected when she came out, but that was _not_ it. It was still very much Alex, a feeling of recognition and longing had appeared in her chest the moment she'd seen him, and she didn't mind that he'd lived a life. Well, a part of her did, burning with jealousy and heartbreak, but she tried not to feel hurt. Would she have waited twenty years, would she have been able to? She didn't think so.

He didn't look much like Seaplane at all but the look of mischief and joy in his eyes had been so clearly Alex she _knew_ that he was the same person. And he had looked at her like she was the world and for a moment there she had believed he'd come and take her into his embrace, sweep her off her feet, take her away, but he hadn't and now she just felt lonely and sort of dead inside. Anxiety was building up in her chest, restricting her breathing. What if he no longer wanted her? Even if he wanted to keep in touch, like he'd said when they were exchanging numbers, what if he didn't want her the same way she did him? He had children of his own. She noticed no ring, but that meant nothing. What if he had a wife home? Her eyes burned and she groaned in frustration, refusing to give it more thought. Rebellion rose inside her and she decided she'd care about no wife, she'd make him hers, but quickly realized how childish and selfish it sounded. She had to respect him. If that meant letting go, she should, no matter how hard it would be.

Overall, Alex aside, she felt _dirty._ Not in _that way,_ but physically so, as if she'd been rolling around in dirt. She knew it was silly, judging by the looks of her clean, styled hair, smudge-free makeup and the trace of overpriced perfume still present on her skin, but whether in this body or not, she'd _been_ in a jungle for _days_ and had to scrub that out of her skin. She drew a bath, threw in a bathbomb and started removing her makeup. Face mask in, body scrub out, all of it. And while she was soaking, she cried. She _wept_. Like a little girl, she howled, letting it all out, the knowledge she might've been killed, that she'd saved a life, that she'd been through something life changing. That she'd fallen in love with someone she might never have.

Eventually tears ran out her fingers became wrinkly and the bath lukewarm. She scrubbed, shaved, scrubbed again, washed her hair twice, and when she was done, she felt clean but miserable.

Advil was her best friend. She took more than she should've and went straight to bed.

She woke up 2 hours later, drenched in cold sweat, gasping for breath. Was this how it was gonna be then? Nightmares on top of everything she'd been through? _What if it was real?_ What if he _had_ been killed and she'd imagined meeting him on the street? No, that was silly, wasn't it?

She had to make sure. Did he have a facebook? Surely he must've, he wasn't _that_ old. _Alex Vreeke,_ she typed out in the search bar and sure enough, his face popped up. She had to snoop. She couldn't resist the temptation.

He only had a few pictures up. One was a selfie that he looked a little self-conscious in with a tight smile, other was a picture of him sat behind a set of drums. In that one he was smiling widely, pearly whites glistening in the harsh lighting. A picture of little Bethany blowing bubbles. A picture of him holding Andy, sat besides a woman with dark hair dressed in a red wrap dress. Bethany's stomach sank and she went snooping, finding the list of his family members. The woman's name was Mary. Mary Vreeke-Smith. _Cousin._ Instant relief passed over her. There was no mention of a wife.

Bethany hoped he was divorced, as if that meant anything in terms of building up a relationship with him. She was still young, maybe he wouldn't be into her, wife or not. She shut the app, satisfied with her snooping anyway. She kept thinking about his smile and heat spread like wildfire on her body, first pooling between her legs but the burning for him spreading out and on everywhere and she felt like she was going to suffocate from sheer desire. She needed him like air.

She touched herself. It would never be forbidden, could never be taken away from her. Even if he didn't want her then she would deal with it, but right now, hope and fantasy was enough. She teased herself and imagined her fingers to be his, imagined him between her legs, and above her, smirking before kissing her senseless and touching her _everywhere_.

It was the most powerful orgasm of her life and for a moment she was floating somewhere, outside her body, only existing in pure bliss and pleasure until she came down from her high and felt more alone and more empty than ever.

She fell asleep with tears flowing once more.


	2. Breaking point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything they need is each other. They meet in a grocery store and everything starts falling into place after that.

It became a regular thing for her, crying. Every day at school she plastered on a smile, but it was all too much. For the first time ever, she was really trying to focus in school. She'd always gotten by well, getting average grades but acting like a brat, but no more. Her teachers were pleased, of course, and a couple asked what was up. She'd only shrug her shoulders; she couldn't admit the real reason. _I was almost killed and now I'm in love with a 40-year-old I know very little about except that he has a cousin and a daughter he named after me._

She lost her old friends. Noah, who was first pining after her, quickly realized something had changed in her and she was different. He accused her of dumping him, of being a slut to some _n-word_ (after that she'd marched up to the principal's office but of course, Noah hadn't gotten in trouble. He was a sports star, his father was the chief of police, he had a bright future in front of him! Racist pieces of shit, both Noah and the principal).

She and Fridge were obviously not dating, but some might see it like that, she supposed. Overnight she'd dumped all her old friends and started hanging with these three, and since Spencer and Martha were dating, well, she knew how it could've looked like to someone as dense as Noah. What she'd ever seen in him, she couldn't understand.

Her 18th birthday was spent with her new friends. Her mom was out of town again, but Martha threw her a small party at here own house. It was nice, but without Alex there it just felt like something was lacking.

She started running with Fridge. Not every morning, but most. The wind against her face was a reminder she was still alive and the way it reminded her of the jungle was bittersweet. Out of breath, absolutely exhausted, legs burning, if she closed her eyes she could almost hear the drums and feel Alex's presence. Running became one of the main things that kept her from drowning.

She also started hanging out with Martha, and doing girl things together. They went to the hairdresser together, painted their nails together (well, Bethany painted both of their nails but Martha allowed her). They gossiped, read magazines and talked about boys. But it got so exhausting sometimes because Alex was the only man she wanted and the only man she couldn't have, and boys just wouldn't satisfy the need burning inside her. Martha raving about everything Spencer did didn't help, but when she also turned sour and grew distant from Spencer, Bethany missed having Martha talk about him like she used to. Bethany lost hope in love more after that. Well, at least until the two were together again and going as strong as ever. That's young love, she supposed, but felt wise beyond her years. Love wasn't always so successful.

Alex hadn't been bearing much better. He'd pushed his feelings aside, put on a brave face for his kids sake. His father had asked no questions about _that_ day. He tried to immerse himself into a routine and it worked to a point.

He cried every time he took a shower. It was easy; the tears looked non-existent in the stream of water, and the warm steam gave him comfort. His waterbill went up but it was the one of the only parts of his day that was _just_ for him. The other part was writing in a journal, but that was much easier when he'd already cried. One day he'd tried to write before and managed two words before bursting into tears.

He'd given up on her, and she'd given up on him. Funny thing, both kept contact with everyone except with each other. Bethany and Spencer just _clicked._ They had very little in common but he was like the brother she'd never had. Martha became her best friend, and Fridge? Well, she wouldn't have stayed sane without the morning runs. Alex on the other hand shared Spencer's fascination with vintage video games and regularly exchanged some words with Martha and Fridge as well. But between Alex and Bethany? Radio silence.

And then, one day, she ran into Alex in the grocery store. Her mom was out of town again, and she was shopping for herself. And she'd almost burst into tears right then and there, because she'd missed his face _so_ much.

”Hi”, he breathed out, and hell, if he wasn't looking at her with the same desperation. Like she was everything he wanted and longed for. It was so evident in his face, the way he was positioned, and she just knew his heart was as inclined towards hers and hers was to his.

”Hi Alex”, she said.

”How have you been?”, he asked. He was so unsure of himself, but she couldn't sense it. Not when so deep in her own melancholy.

”Busy”, she answered simply. It was true, she _had_ been busy. Busy distracting herself from him, with friends, with school, with exercise.

”I bet, he said”.

”It's good to see you”. It didn't even begin to explain what she was feeling.

”You too”.

It was painfully awkward at first, like rusty wheels starting to turn. There was _nothing_ effortless about it, not when both were so deprived of each other's company. There was so much hunger and wanting that it was hard to exist in that moment.

Still, as she was just looking at him and was the prettiest thing he'd ever seen, she looked so sad and it was like his heart was breaking into a million little pieces all over again. She was in pain, he could see it clear as day. He knew, because he was experiencing the exact same thing. His soul recognized her misery and he couldn't bear it. He thought he'd been doing the right thing for her, keeping his distance, but he could see now he couldn't have been more _wrong._

”Are you well?”, he asked carefully. Like a deer caught in the headlights, she looked so shocked it could've been comical, but nothing about this was funny to him. Being away from her for so long, waiting, wanting, wishing, and then meeting her and still getting nothing, and now, seeing her anguished, it was detrimental to his own well-being.

”Yeah. Well, you know how it is”, she said half-heartedly, hoping he'd drop it, but also hoping he'd sweep her off her feet and be her saviour.

”I do. I still remember the existential crisis, the nightmares”, he spoke gravely and for a moment he was lost somewhere in his mind, face blank and eyes looking at her but not _really_. ”You know, I'm here for you. All you need to do is call. I promise I'll answer”, he said and she believed him. She really did.

And it stopped being rusty and awkward and just started making sense, and they talked for way longer than it was customary to do in the middle of a supermarket.

When they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways, she'd made her mind up. She would call, and she would ask to meet up. She would go after this _thing_ between them and she would try her best and accept everything he was willing to give.

That night, after doing her skincare and after facetiming Martha about a final geography project (and Spencer), she opened her contacts and pressed green.

And then she waited. It felt like hours, agonizing, and she questioned the decision ten times over, but then everything was good when he picked up and said her name. They talked. For what must've been hours, they talked and she got the courage to ask him if he wanted to get a cup of coffee with her. Him accepting was enough to set the fire ablaze once more and for the first time in months, she felt alive. She felt everything and it was _so good._ He said he had a place in mind, remote and private, and they settled on a date, next Saturday. Just like _that._ What she'd been playing around with in her head, thinking she would never have, would never get the courage to ask for, she had, and now they had a date and a place and a time and it was gonna be just him and her.

They talked for an hour more after that and she learned he was divorced (she would never admit it to anyone, but she did a super geeky winning dance when he mentioned it so nonchalantly, as if it wasn't a life-changing for her). Eventually they had to stop talking and she was reminded that he was a dad and he had to go take care of little Andy who'd woken up. Even she was surprised when him talking about his children so openly didn't scare her away, but instead left her smiling. They ended the call with smiles on their faces.

That was the first night in months she didn't cry herself to sleep.

***

It was Saturday. She was wearing a blue romper; it made her look slightly older but not like she was trying too hard. She'd snapchatted Martha about it, asking what to wea, one outfit a dress and other this one. She'd told her it's for a guy but wouldn't tell who, and Martha had said the romper made her look sexy and mysterious, while the dress was more so just normal hot.

She wore eyeliner in the longest time and she felt really good about how she looked. Twirling around in front of the mirror, she took a selfie and dared to text it to Alex. _Ready when you are._ She left it open for interpretation on purpose, as it could simply just mean hey, i'm ready to go, or so, so much more.

Nevertheless, Alex nearly crashed into the car in front of him when he opened their conversation and saw the picture. Driving while on your phone is always a bad decision, he reminded himself, and had to take a breather when he realized he was half-hard. Could he compliment her? Would she even care? A girl like that must've gotten so many compliments over her looks, were they just empty words for her? Or would she be creeped out by him? Just because she wanted him in his life didn't mean she wanted him in her life _like that_.

 _You look great. Be there in five_ he responded. He deemed it appropriate as it was noting her looks but not in a way that could be interpreted as improper. He hoped.

He had barely parked his car when he already spotted her exiting her house. She looked even better in person and he wasn't sure how he was gonna manage acting normal but he had no choice, did he. Besides, would she really blame him?

”Hi”, she breathed when she climbed into his car.

”Hi. Ready to go?” he asked, voice only barely wavering from nerves. Not everyday you had the woman you'd been waiting for over twenty years sit in your car.

”Yeah. Where are we going?”

”I was thinking about this cafe, Mocha Aroma? It's on the outskirts of town, thought it might give us a bit more privacy?”, he offered, feeling increasingly weird about it. Whatever he'd expected out of this friendship, he had not realized how much hiding there was gonna be about it.

”Yeah, sounds nice!”, she commented. ”It sucks we have to hide, though”, she voiced her honest opinion and looked a little uncomfortable. Alex cringed.

”We don't _have_ to go, I know it must be weird for you, me being _old-”_

”No! Alex, nothing will ever be weird with us, ok? Sure, you're not 16 but that's okay. We're both adults, that's what matters. I just meant, I wish we could go anywhere we want”.

What she said meant sense to him. Objectively, the age of consent in this state was sixteen (information he despised himself he'd looked up because of _her_ ) and she was turning 18 this year, but he was still worried. He didn't want her to get in trouble for being seen with a guy his age.

”Yeah, some day, right?”, he offered weakly. Her blinding smile made it all worth it.

The cafe was a little higher end than Alex had anticipated (he'd never been there before, and had merely googled places _not_ in downtown. He felt out of place, dressed in a band tee and jeans, but she fit here perfectly.

He got a normal coffee, she ordered a latte. She had her credit card out when he said he'd pay for both. Biting her lower lip to stop herself from smiling like an idiot she stuffed the card back into her purse.

Bethany felt giddy. Never had she been treated with such respect before, and this wasn't even a date! He'd opened the car door for her, then held the door to the cafe, and now he was helping her with the chair. He was the first guy who had ever offered to pay, (or offered to take her somewhere else than McDonald's in the first place) and the first guy who was looking at her like she was an actual person, not just a future notch in his bed. Butterflies in her stomach refused to settle down as he sat opposite of her and for the first time, she got a really good look at him.

Sure, she'd seen him before, but not like this; not so up close and intimate, looking at her with similar curiosity. Neither spoke for a moment but words weren't needed; this was Bethany and Alex, and such a deep understanding of everything existed between them for a few minutes; coffees forgotten, just taking each other in.

He was handsome. Not hot like an actor or a model; but incredibly attractive in his own way. Before Jumanji she wouldn't have given him much thought, she admitted that to herself, but now, looking at him, it was like he was everything she'd ever wanted in a man. He was kind; his eyes were gentle and full of affection when looking at her. His lips looked soft and when his soft-looking lips grew into a crooked smile she could feel her heart bursting in her chest and her toes curling in her shoes. She imagined running fingers through his hair, how the soft curl would feel under her fingertips and how he'd groan when she'd lightly tug at the shorter strands at the back of his head. How he'd grab her body harder and pull her closer when she kissed him, fingers still buried in his hair.

Alex's thoughts were less sexual but not less loving. She was obviously pretty, but that had been a given since the second he'd laid his eyes on her on that faithful day last December when she along with her friends had walked up his father's street. She was young; made evident by the line-free, supple skin of her face, the brightness of her eyes as she grinned at him. She was hotter than he could've ever imagined even in his most feverish fantasies of the mysterious Bethany Walker; he'd understood even two decades ago, still in the game, that she was pretty _fly_ , but nothing could've ever prepared him for the reality of it. She was so unbelievably out of his league it was borderline bizarre and for a second there he wondered it was a miracle in itself that he was allowed to be like this for a moment; just looking at her, really looking, tracing her face and figure with his eyes to memorize every detail of it.

The moment was broken by someone clearing their throat rather loudly. The magic was gone, and the pair fell out of their trance into the reality of the situation.

Bethany saw the offender first. Sat on the table behind Alex, a woman in her fifties was staring straight into her eyes, her face twisted in an ugly sneer. She looked proud and resentful and downright disgusted with her. Bethany nearly shuddered and gasped as she forced herself to look away, to concentrate on her cup. The drink looked just as lovely as she'd assumed it would when she'd ordered it, but her craving was gone. How a stranger could look at her with such hatred was beyond her, she'd done nothing to offend the woman, and then it dawned on her. She looked at Alex and realized again what she already knew; he was twice her age, and no faith or connection between their souls was gonna change that.

”Bethany, are you okay?”, he asked, voice dripping concern as he reached for her hand. She grasped it, shaking; needing his touch to ground herself. She took a breath and bit her lip; he was looking at her intensely, searching her eyes for a sign she was okay.

”I'm fine”, she said after a while and decided she would refuse to look behind him anymore. Some random idiot woman would not ruin this for her. She refused to let this thing between him and her be ruined. She took a sip of her drink though she couldn't enjoy the taste, she still hummed in response to the warmth of it making its way into her stomach. It calmed her nerves and brought her back to the present.

”I was so stoked when you called”. He hesitated, painfully aware of their age gap. The girl he'd met 20 years ago may have been a distant memory but the connection he felt right here, right now, to her? It was so real and so prevalent in every cell of his body it was unmistakable.

This was _his_ Bethany and this was _exactly_ what faith had meant to happen, for them to meet in this world and become something. What exactly, he was unsure. Physically he wanted her like a man wants a woman, but this was _Bethany,_ the girl who'd given him a life once and intertwined their souls for forever.

This was the woman he'd spent twenty years fantasizing about day in day out, dreaming of each and every night. She was like a fountain in the middle of the desert Jumanji had dropped him into when he'd plopped back into 1996. She attracted him like a moth to a flame. Whatever she was willing to give to him or take from him he was willing to be satisfied with.

Alas, while his soul yearned for her, she was still twenty years younger than him. He had to tread carefully. How far could he expect the connection to last? He was just some random guy, he was not Seaplane anymore. He was Alex Vreeke; late thirties, divorcee, two kids. How likely was it she'd want him like he wanted her? With how much time had passed, was he even _her_ Alex anymore?

”Yeah?”; she prompted him to go on after noticing his eyes almost gloss over. The way she was looking at him now, eager, anxious, _affectionate_ , gave him strength to say what he badly wanted her to hear.

”Yup. I wished- I wished you would, and when you did, well, I”, he smiled and shook his head. ”It made my day, hell, I've been walking on air since”, he admitted.

”I was so worried you wouldn't want anything to do with me” Bethany admitted so quietly he could barely hear her, but he did and was out of his mind. How could a woman who looked like her be afraid of _that ._ Her insecurity was proof of her age, but he made it his mission to make her see herself in the right light. Make her see herself like he did.

”Never worry about that. Never. I will always want everything to do with you”.

Bethany's eyes watered but whatever peace and comfort she had allowed herself to have was quickly dissipated when the same lady from before pointed straight at her while talking quite _loudly_ to a server and she could hear every word. Hell, everyone could. _Can you imagine, and in this place! Prostitution! This is a disgrace!”._

Bethany saw red and was up from her seat before she could stop herself.

”Excuse me ma'am, is there a problem?”, she asked with a sickeningly sweet voice, overly patient smile plastered on her face.

”While yes there is, young lady! It's you and your _sugardaddy_ that bring the respectability of this whole place down!”. Her voice was accusing and while Alex was completely thrown back at what she had said, Bethany made her decision. She _had_ to get out of here.

”Me and my _sugardaddy_ are merely having a date; it's you who is bothering everyone”, Bethany said, walking back to her place to gather her things. ”Come on Alex, I want to leave”, she said and Alex merely stumbled on his feet, managed to get a few bills out of his pocket that he threw on the table to be collected as a tip and ran after Bethany who was already outside when he'd managed to stuff his wallet back to his pocket.

He spotted her besides his car and he fished the key and pressed it to unlock the doors. She climbed in, guilt already swallowing her. It wasn't his fault she was so damn sensitive; he must've been incredibly embarrassed by what she had done.

”Are you okay?”, he asked once he'd sat on the driver's seat. She was visibly upset, shoulders slumped and gaze turned down. He reached for her hand but hesitated; letting his hand fall down on the handbreak instead, ready to take off if she demanded to be taken home.

”I'm sorry- The way I acted inside- I don't want to be embarrassing to you but I just got _so mad-_ who is she to judge-”, she rambled on, fiddling with her fingers. She stopped once he brought his hand over her smaller ones. She looked at him, eyes wide, breathless.

”I get it”, was all he said. She felt much better now, soothed that maybe, maybe he wasn't mad at her.

”Thanks”, she said sheepishly. When he withrew his hand she almost felt upset before realizing he was merely starting the car.

”Sugardaddy, huh?”, Alex chuckled after a while. He was relieved to see Bethany giggle too.

”Definitely not how I imagined being accused of having one, for sure”

The way she put it raised some questions and he grew serious. He weighed if he should ask more; while deciding he shouldn't, he did anyway.

”Is that something you want?”. She'd been quite comfortable declaring him as such to the rude woman. He hadn't quite figured out her yet; she might've also been immensely uncomfortable and pretending to prove any number of points.

”I mean- before the game, I did”, she said, refusing to meet his eyes when his shot straight to her.

”What about now?”, he swallowed, afraid of her answer. Which alternative he was more scared of, he wasn't sure.

She was silent for a moment. ”Depends”, she muttered in the end. His heart skipped a beat.

They drove around for hours, talking about everything, about Jumanji, about her plans after high school, about his children, about how to best go about their friendship as it had been made quite apparent earlier not everyone would be so understanding.

It was dim out when they finally arrived back on her street.

”I had a really nice time”, she said.

”Me too”, he answered, smiling.

”When can we see again?”.

”I'm free on Saturday”

”I'll see you then?”. It masked as a question but really was a prayer.

”Yep. Saturday it is”, he confirmed with a nod and a smile and with that she climbed out of his car.

”Bethany?”

She bent forward and he couldn't help but glance at her cleavage; instantly hating himself for it. If she noticed, she pretended not to.

”Yeah?”

”Call me”, he begged.

”Don't worry, I will”, she smiled brightly before shutting the door. He watched as she walked away and he sighed. His life had been changed by Jumanji for forever, but it had _really_ changed three months ago when she and her friends had walked by his fathers house to find him. When he'd met the real Bethany and let her waltz straight into his life, to his heart.

She did call him, later that evening and every evening after that. It was as if their lives depended on it. She felt alive again, happy and content, he felt like he was strong enough to carry on again.

They talked a lot about relationships. They talked about how they had bonded with Spencer, Martha and Fridge, and how it had affected their past friendships. Even if the changes in his life had happened two decades ago she loved listening to it because it was so _familiar,_ so _same._ She talked about her nightmares, especially ones he died in. He related to it, sometimes still having bad dreams about it. It was a great comfort to her that while it would never fully go away, it would become better.

She learned more about his divorce and the marriage had lasted two years but he admitted he'd never loved Sarah and she'd gone off with another man and completely cut off all contact after giving birth to Andy. How anyone could make such a decision, to leave her own children behind, Bethany couldn't understand. Alex was glad to learn she didn't have a boyfriend, as they were talking about relationships and self-worth in general.

Alex also talked about his cousin who was a huge help to him with the kids. He told her that she and her wife were trying to adopt but had so far been unsuccessful and that they loved his kids like their own. He admitted he probably wouldn't have survived without Mary and Linda's help.

She was really glad he wasn't alone. And now, after establishing contact? Well, she was glad to be there too, and she wondered how he'd survived twenty years when she'd barely survived a couple of months. But now she had him back and it was getting so much better day after day.


	3. Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's happy and excited for life and it's perfect bliss until something bad happens at a house party, but she'll be fine because she has him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mention of non-consensual kissing and grabbing so tw (not between Alex and Bethany)

In April she got a job. Part time until she graduated, and she had to take full advantage of her trust-fund to get her own place as soon as possible. She felt out of place in her childhood home now, big and empty with her mom's increasing business trips, and she wanted something that was fully hers.

Working in a bookstore was perfect. It was owned by a couple with an obvious age gap and honestly it made her feel safe. She loved the fact that Alex could come visit her and they would not be judged there. He'd been hesitant at first, but she'd promised it was okay. And most Saturdays he did drop by so they could walk or drive to whatever cafe or restaurant they wanted.

Another reason why the bookstore job was amazing was the benefits; she got half off the price of any books she wanted. She used to be a bookworm in her childhood, and while in her teens books had been replaced by social media and vanity,after Jumanji she'd fallen in love with reading once more.

They visited a few different cafes at first as they'd sworn to never step foot in Mocha Aroma again. Alex worried they were gonna be treated the same anywhere they went but Bethany insisted they not hide but try to find a place that fits.

Ada's was the answer to their prayers. Recommended to her by Mr. and Mrs. Andersen, the bookstore owners, it wasn't remote but it was hidden and sheltered, and its customers mostly consisted of elderly people. No one looked at them funny when they went in, and she even spotted an age gap couple there, the woman older, and even if she wasn't dating Alex, the woman had looked at her and smiled in sympathy.

When she found the perfect apartment he was there to help. He moved furniture, carried boxes and brought her coffee. She had honestly, completely and irrevocably fallen in love with him before she could try to stop herself. It was no longer a crush, it was full-on agonizing love that made her float and sink at the same time. It was heaven and hell, loving him from afar.

But still fearing rejection, well, she wouldn't have had it any other way. She had him in her life and it was enough.

When he asked her if it was okay that they skip the cafe and he cooks instead she was elated.

She arrived at the address he'd given her. It wasn't dark outside yet but it was a strange enough neighbourhood for her to feel comfortable leaving her car on his driveway without being afraid of anyone recognizing it. She anxiously made her way to the door, praying everything went well. She'd never been inside his home, and while she shouldn't have had anything to worry about, she was scared it would be different inside his home than at Ada's, or the bookstore, or his car.

Nevertheless she was about to ring the doorbell when he already was opening the door; he must've seen her coming.

”Hi”. Still, after almost six months, he made her breath hitch in her throat whenever she saw him.

He invited her in and her nerves instantly melted away. Nothing was different or weird and it was amazing. He helped Bethany with her coat. Butterflies were awoken once more in the pit of her stomach.

”Ever the gentleman”, she grinned and he shrugged.

”Sorry for the mess, I tried to clean up but-”, he trailed off when he lead her to the kitchen and while it was a little bit of a chaos, she felt at home.

”Let me help”, she offered and before he could decline she'd already grabbed the spatula which he had balanced on the pan's handle and was turning the chicken before it could burn. It was already dark on one side and Alex cringed but she just smiled at him.

Alex forced himself to stop staring at how domestic she looked and how well she just seemed to fit into this part of his life too. He collected himself and the colored pencils his kids had left spread out on the table and stacked their drawings in a neat pile. He then got veggies out from the fridge to wash them.

And that how they spent the beginning of the evening, domestic, productive and Alex was amazed how well they shared the small space as if they were somehow instinctively aware of each others bodies and not once did they run into each other.

She began setting the table when the chicken was cooked to perfection. He instructed her to where everything was and when she couldn't reach the glasses she admired him when he came and reached for them. Their fingers brushed against each other when he handed the glasses to her. She bit her lip and his gaze dipped to look at them. Heat pooled between her thighs and she could already see him coming closer, closing the gap between them and ravishing her right then and there but he stepped away instead. Had he felt the electricity between them? She had to close her eyes for a second and let out the breath she'd been holding.

For her disappointment he pretended nothing had happened that was out of the ordinary. To her disappointment, he didn't come that close to her anymore. Instead they settled on the table to eat and continue talking. Conversation came easy as it always. One could fear that it wouldn't, but the connection was so strong it felt like they'd always known each other and after the months they'd spent together it was only natural. After the meal he loaded the dishwasher and she simply observed him, listening to him talk.

Soon they found themselves in his living room. He found himself apologizing over toys again.

”No. Alex, you have kids, I get that. You don't have to try to hide that”, Bethany said and Alex stopped in his tracks to listen. ”I don't want you to shut parts of your life out from me. Ever”.

”Sorry. I just don't want to alienate you with my adult problems”

”You could never alienate me. You're still my Alex. Everything else is just...extra”, Bethany said and plopped herself down on the couch.

”Really?”,

”Promise”.

A month went by, then another rolled around. Bethany spent more and more time in Alex's house, but she had yet to meet the children. Both of them seemed to avoid the issue and she didn't press on. When he was ready he'd tell her.

The worst part was when he had his birthday, May 20th. He wanted to spend the whole day with her, but alas, he spent it with her children and her cousin. It was late evening when he was finally home and she was waiting in the car on his driveway already.

They made tea and ate the cupcakes she brought and it was wonderful. He was shocked when she handed him a gift; he hadn't expected anything. She bit her lip to soothe her nerves when he opened it.

She'd gotten him cologne. He tried it on and when the scent landed on his skin he felt intimate knowing it was something she had chosen, something she liked. And he decided it was the best scent he'd ever owned.

It did open up another conversation though. He had no idea when her birthday was, so he asked. When she told him it was in January, he felt bad he hadn't given her anything, even though back then they weren't even talking yet. She hushed him and he swore he'd be there next year. The promise made her smile.

May turned into June and not much changed. Then Bethany got invited to a house party that was like an unofficial school's out party. It felt silly; she was well past wanting to attend stuff like that. But alas, she decided to go because Fridge asked her to and Martha, who had never been in a high school party before didn't want to go without her.

Bethany felt nothing like the bimbo she'd once been but some things still came naturally. Shopping for a dress, some new makeup, the works. She even treated herself to a proper manicure. Curling her hair with a straightener, putting on makeup and throwing on a dress was nothing she couldn't do for the sake of appearing normal, even though nothing about her life was normal anymore. Not after Jumanji. She didn't want her life to be normal anymore anyway. What she had now was a million times better than she could've ever hoped to have.

Still, making herself look like the old her was effortless as ever. She'd missed it a bit, she realized, attending to herself, meticulously polishing her appearance until every stray strand of hair was tamed, her makeup was on point and she was satisfied with how much moisturizer she'd lathered on her legs. She looked hot as hell and while this wasn't what she wanted to be all the time anywhere, it was refreshing.

Alex came by to return the powerbank she'd accidentally left at his place yesterday. It wasn't much trouble to him and he enjoyed having an excuse to see her. Only that he nearly dropped the charger in his hand when she opened the door and barely managed to grab it mid-air.

”Wow”, was all he could muster up. And he felt like an idiot just standing there, gaping. Not because of her makeup, not because of the carefully arranged head of curls. No. It was her body; the dress barely covering her legs, exposing more of her he'd ever seen before. The dip of her waist, the curve of her hip and the plumpness of her chest. The soft skin of her shoulders, the curve of her exposed neck. She was radiating and she was breathtaking and the shape of her was enough to make him dizzy.

He realized right then and there how utterly in over his head he was. How could she ever feel the same for him he did for her? He was incredibly ordinary and she, well, _she_ was everything. She was a ray of sunshine on a rainy day, a drink of water after 40 days in a desert, the answer to his prayers when he'd been alone for so long. She was a fantasy, there was no way anyone so exquisitely heavenly could've been real.

She was _so_ out of his league, he reminded himself once more.

She clenched her thighs together when she noticed what her appearance did to him. She _knew_ that look. It was the look she'd gotten many times in her life, from boys left and right, from her mother's business associates, from geeks when they were assigned as lab partners, from football players, from Noah, once from a substitute teacher. But this was Alex, _her_ Alex, and this was the first time having this effect on a man was something that made her feel good instead of gross. She felt wanted and beautiful and only hoped he would just make the first move, touch her, make her his own, and give her the best excuse to not go to a stupid party.

But he gathered his thoughts and regained a considerable amount of control over himself when he closed his eyes and forced his mind back to order.

”Come in”, she said with a smirk. She caught herself in the mirror – she _did_ look good. She'd even applied highlighter to her collarbones and it made her whole being glow. She felt more sensual than ever before.

”Do you want something to drink? I think I have half an hour or so before I need to leave”.

”Yes please”, he said and gulped when he caught her perfume; warm and inviting. He ran his eyes up and down her body when she lead him to the kitchen.

She got two cokes out and sat on her couch. The coffee table was overflowing with makeup.

”Sorry for the mess”, she apologized but made no effort to clean it up, rather just pushed some of it in a more concentrated pile so they could fit their cans on it.

”Hey, how many times you come to my place and stuff has been all over the place?”, he asked. She hummed.

”That's toys though, stuff your kids need. You never have _your_ stuff laying around.”

”Maybe, but that's different”.

”Yeah I guess. I got a little excited, I don't remember when I last dressed up properly”.

”You look- wow. Just wow”, he said and was glad to find her not looking creeped out, and instead, flattered.

”Thanks. Meet the old me, I guess”, she said and smiled bittersweetly.

”You always look _so_ beautiful Bethany”, he admitted. She honestly didn't need the makeup, the revealing dress. She could be dressed in anything and have her hair messy and honestly, he'd still stumble over his words and feet. This was _his_ Bethany and she was divine.

She blushed crimson.

”Thank you. Not so bad yourself”, she said and he shook his head.

”I'm no Seaplane”, he started, and Bethany grabbed his hand in hers.

”I know. I prefer the real you anyway”.

They stared at each other for a moment again, and then her phone beeped and he knew he must leave soon, unless they wanted to explain any of this to her friends.

He left with a bitter taste in his mouth. He didn't want to let her go but he had to. He trusted her to come back to him, especially after how she'd looked at him today, while looking like _that,_ fucking gorgeous, and still looking at him like he was not just enough, but perfect, but god, he wanted to hold onto her hand and not let go for the rest of his life. W hat pulled him through was what she'd said.

_I prefer the real you anyway._

He went home, still practically levitating at her words. He had felt so much guilt about not being enough to her but it was as if a weight had been lifted off his chest. Surely she wouldn't have just said that in vain, no. He held her to higher standards than that.

He couldn't fall asleep though. As the hours went on his jealousy grew. He imagined high school _boys_ looking at her dressed in that skimpy little dress, like he had, and he hated it. She was allowed to wear anything she wanted, of course, but his jealousy grew like a poison ivy and left him unrecognizable to himself.

He almost had a heart attack when his phone rang midst wallowing in self-pity and rage.

”Hey, what's up?” he asked and sounded weird even to his own ears., He got yet another shock when the girl was clearly sobbing on the other side of the phone. ”Bethany? Are you okay?”, he pressed.

”No. Nothing's okay. I know it's late. Sorry. Can you like, come pick me up?, Bethany asked. She sounded miserable and her speech was slurred. Either by alcohol or crying, it didn't make a difference to him. Alex was already pulling on his hoodie when he asked for the address.

It probably took only half of the time it should've when he drove to her. The house was clearly full of teenagers in varying levels of intoxication, some of them on the outside smoking god knows what, and he felt very out of place. He texted Bethany that he was outside and when he saw the girl stumble out in the state of distraught she was in he rushed out of the car and up to her.

”Alex”, she breathed out and flung herself against him He could barely register that her arms had been around him before she was already pulling away, apologizing. He then took a good look at her and his heart sank. Mascara was running down her cheeks and her hair was disheveled and then he saw something that broke his heart in little pieces- her dress was clearly torn on one side, the fabric ripped at the side seam exposing her body up to her hip on one side. He could see the black lace of her underwear and shrugged off his hoodie and quickly tied it around her waist to provide some coverage. She thanked him and he led her to his car.

He wasn't very a very angry person in general, but at that moment he could've easily gone inside and beat whoever did that to _his_ Bethany to pulp.

”What happened?”, he asked gently as he drove away. He feared the worst – a ripped dress created horrible images in his head.

”I- Noah- he-”, Bethany managed before bursting into tears once more. He offered his hand which she accepted and squeezed. It took a while to gather her thoughts and Alex on the other hand focused on driving.

”Alex?"

”Hmm?”

”Please don't take me home. I don't want to be alone”.

”Yeah, I'll drive to my place. That sound okay?”, he asked and she nod, managing a weak thank you.

When they got to his house he made her a cup of tea. He'd never been much of a tea drinker before she stumbled back into his life, but he had purchased the exact brand of green tea he knew she liked months before ever thinking she might actually visit him. Now it was a stable in his pantry and he was a glad he a was a bit obsessed like that. For a moment she looked peaceful and like she was gonna be okay, smudged makeup and messy hair aside. Still, the contrast to the happy girl she'd been earlier today was a stark one.

”What happened?”, he asked again. He imagined the worst possible situation that could've lead for the ripped dress and _had_ to know.

”Noah-”, she started, took a deep breath and a sip of her tea before grabbing his hand and continuing ”- I didn't want to talk to him but he dragged me outside. I tripped, or he pushed me, I'm not sure-”, she said, looking down at her knees that had were dirty and bloody and Alex made a mental note to clean those later- ”He pushed me against the wall and-” her voice broke and she looked down in shame.

”Did he rape you?”, Alex asked bluntly, and while it was a harsh way of going about it he _had_ to know.

”No.”, she answered. ”He kissed me” and sure enough, Alex saw her lower lip looked bruised, the asshole had probably _bitten_ it- ”I begged him to stop. I punched him and ran inside to call you”, she told him.

While it was horrible, Alex was still relieved. It could've been a lot worse.

”I'm glad you called”, Alex said and allowed the girl to bury herself in his embrace.

”Hey, are you gonna be okay for a sec if i go find the first aid kit?”, he asked after a while. Bethany straightened up and nodded. She even managed a weak smile which he took as win.

When he came back she was actively trying to smooth her hair down but honestly, he couldn't give a crap. Even like this, completely disheveled and exhausted she looked beautiful. It was heartbreaking and ugly because she had been hurt, but she still managed to make his heart beat faster.

He turned on the light to properly see her injuries; apart from her lip and the bruises apparent on her neck and chest, she only appeared to have slightly scraped her knees. He asked to see her palms too, which weren't bleeding.

Then it dawned on him. If she wanted to report this to the police, like she _should,_ that should happen now. So he asked her and was shocked to find the girl start shaking and hyperventilating.

”Hey, it's okay! You don't have to do _anything_ you don't want to”, he said and pulled her back into a hug. She calmed once being cradled against his chest for a while.

”Noah's father is the chief of police. They would blame it on my dress as if it's any kind of excuse”.

Alex got it. He didn't _like_ it but she clearly wanted it all to be over so he merely nodded and gestured towards her knee, alcohol based cleaner in hand. She nodded.

”Sorry, this might hurt a little”, he said out of habit when bringing to alcohol soaked cotton ball to her skin, before realizing this wasn't a child he was dealing with. Truth be told she was perfectly capable of cleaning her own injuries but he'd already gone for it, so he wasn't about to back out now. And surely she did not hiss, did not voice out any complaint as he gently cleaned the skin of blood and dirt. He was almost rendered speechless when he was done and turned his gaze to meet hers. She was looking at him so intensely and he only now realized the intimacy of the situation, him on his knees in front of her, palm pressed against perfectly smooth and soft skin of her calf, her looking at him like he was some sort of savior- it was almost too much for him to bear.

He cleared his throat when he stood up, and whatever spell he'd fallen under was broken. And it was then that he also realized how utterly exhausted he felt. Her yawn confirmed his suspicions that she was also tired. And no wonder, the time on his microwave read 4:08.

”I think we should probably try to get some sleep”, he offered, and then realized how that must've sounded like ”I mean you should take the bedroom, I'll sleep on the couch”, he explained.

She looked unsure

”Come on, I insist” and she let him lead her into his bedroom.

"Can I borrow something to sleep in?”, she asked while looking at his bed, soft and inviting. He swallowed, the though of her in his clothes was incredibly intimate- but he didn't want to make it creepy or anything else other than the innocent request for comfort it was.

”Sure”. He went straight for his closet and fished out a loose t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants which were sure to be incredibly too big on her but he had nothing better fitting to offer. ”Here”, he said while handing the pile to her.

”Thank you. Uh, one more thing-” she said, suddenly visibly uncomfortable. He raised his brow, though waited patiently. ”Could you unzip my dress?”, She asked, voice quiet like a mouse but he still heard her clear as day.

”Of course”, he said yet swallowed dryly when she turned around and swept her hair over her shoulder out of the way.

He tried to be mindful of not touching her skin, as she'd already been violated enough today, but as the backs of his fingers grazed against her skin it almost burned him, begging him to press his whole palm against her body, touching, caressing, pulling closer- but he refused, simply pulling the zipper down enough where she'd likely be able to catch it.

”Thank you”, she said. He told her she could change in the bathroom while he went ahead and grabbed some clothes for himself from the closet, and sure enough, she disappeared only to reappear a moment after, dressed in only the shirt he'd given, pants in hand. Whatever effect the dress she had on earlier had had on him, paled in comparison to how his body wanted to respond to her in his shirt.

She looked cozy and much more comfortable in her skin now. He got momentarily distracted by her body again, how the shirt only reached the tops of her thighs, leaving even more of her legs exposed to his gaze but he forced himself to look her in the eye.

”Sorry, there's no way these are gonna stay up”, she said and lifted the hand holding the pants. She offered them back to him and he took them with a small smile and threw them on a chair, not bothering to take them back to where they belonged.

”Think you'll be okay?”, he asked hoping she felt better and that she felt _safe._ And when she got bashful and bit her lip he took a breath, anxious for her answer. He hadn't made her feel uncomfortable, had he?

”Could you- could you stay? Just for a second-”, she begged and looked small and frightened and he was suddenly oddly aware of her youth and what she'd gone through tonight.

”Yes. Whatever you need”, Alex answered with the gentlest voice he physically could.

The image of Bethany Walker making her way into his bed, dressed in his shirt, laying her head down against his pillow was one he was gonna cherish forever.

He sat on the edge of the bed and he felt quite lost for in that moment. What was he supposed to do, what was expected of him?

”You can lay down, you know. I don't bite”, she said with newfound courage and he chuckled and obliged. For a moment both of them stared at the ceiling, comfortable silence and darkness engulfing them both. He was hyper aware of the heat radiating from her and he wanted to reach his hand out for hers.

”Alex?”, she asked after a while.

”Yeah?”, he asked, turning his head towards her. She was already looking at him.

”Thank you for tonight”, she said, now turning her whole body to face his. He quickly mirrored her and she grasped his hand. ”It means everything to me”, she added and he could see tears glimmering in the corners of her eyes. He wiped one stray tear off her cheek and felt hot when she leaned into his touch. She scooted closer to him and it felt natural to pull her into his embrace, so he did. Her warmth against his whole body was pure bliss; this must've been what heaven felt like.

”Anything”, he muttered into her hair and comforted the girl until she must've fallen asleep.

It would've been so easy to stay there; keep holding her, feeling her warmth under his eager fingers, listening to her soft breaths that tickled the skin of his neck, but he had to be the responsible one. She'd asked him to stay for a moment. Sleeping had not been discussed and staying there without her consent didn't sit well with him. He forced himself to let her go and slowly scooted away and left the bed to go downstairs.

It was only once Alex had drank a large glass of water that the reality of the situation sank in.

He had an 18-year-old girl in his bed. A young, beautiful, clad in nothing but one of his own shirts he'd borrowed her.

And while it might've been exactly what Alex had been fantasizing about ever since the four teenagers stood outside his father's house, well, this was not what he had planned and it had not gone at all like he would've preferred. At least he had one thing going for him; despite him absolutely loving his kids, he was happy the kids were at their aunt's. It would've been impossible to explain any of what had happened tonight to a four-year-old.

Alex played the events of it in his head and realized he wasn't sure if Bethany had drank enough to have a hangover tomorrow, so he made sure to take a pack of aspirin and a big glass of water for her on the nightstand. He stayed there for a short moment and admired the girl who was absolutely engulfed by the king-sized bed. She was still over the covers and his eyes caressed the smooth skin of her legs.

When he realized what he was doing, his stomach sank. Here he was, actively taking advantage of her earlier state of distress. Had her asshole of an ex not tried his luck with her, she wouldn't even be here. So he shook his head at his own behavior and gently pulled the covers over her; he couldn't but feel overly protective. This was _his_ Bethany, the girl who'd once saved his life and who he had never stopped waiting for. And then she'd arrived and he'd been rendered speechless by how beautiful she was but had somehow been lucky enough to have in his life anyway.

It was funny how that worked. He'd never been a cool kid, a metalhead, but still sort of an oddball. On the uglier side, lanky and awkward (but it had worked to his advantage, he was still slim without much effort). Had they been young at the same time, she would've never given him the time of day. Especially how she told him she'd been before the game had changed her. Now he was fairly certain she harbored some sort of crush on him, although to what extent it was just him hoping and assuming fantasies to be real, he wasn't sure. Just sometimes she looked at him like he was the world and it made his heart ache because she certainly was his. He remembered her words again, that she preferred him over Seaplane and he smiled like an idiot in the dark quiet of the night. But still, his insecurities played up when he made his way downstairs.

Sure, he _had been_ Seaplane and she had for sure looked absolutely nothing like she did in real life when they'd met for the first time. Apart from believing he saw an angel when she saved his life, it had always been their souls that were connected. But for him that was twenty years ago and it would be unrealistic for him to just assume she'd be okay with this. He wasn't the same person he was twenty years ago, god, he'd only been sixteen. Life had banged him up since and he'd grown to be something different.

He was physically different too. Of course he was, the years he'd been forced to live without her were written all over the very fabric of his life. To assume she'd want him _like that_ when he was _like this_ was something he didn't dare even hope.

He crashed on the sofa, completely exhausted, not an ounce of energy left. He fell into restless sleep shortly thereafter.

Morning came sooner than he would've preferred. His back was sore from sleeping on the couch but not enough so to render him immobile. How embarrassing that would've been! He went straight for the coffee machine and once it was dripping, he made his way back to the couch and turned on the tv. Not much was on and he took out his phone instead.

A memory flashed in his brain, how back in the game he'd asked Bethany, or Shelly, if phone meant something different in the future. He chuckled before checking the news with his smartphone.

It wasn't long before he heard steps descend the stairs. Alex found himself adjusting his hair to hopefully not look like a birds nest. Bethany always looked so flawless, he couldn't imagine her looking any less perfect even first thing in the morning. And indeed, she was the most beautiful sight he'd ever laid his eyes on.

”Hi”, Bethany said sheepishly. She was still wearing nothing but his shirt; it barely came down to the tops of her thighs and probably barely covered her ass and Alex had to swallow to set his thoughts straight. She'd also washed her face, smudged makeup gone.

”Morning”, he said and stood up. ”Coffee?”, he asked and nodded towards the kitchen.

”Yes please”, she said and followed him.

He filled two cups in silence, only asking if she also wanted milk, or if she wanted sugar (which he didn't use, and she also declined).

They sat down in the living room, and when she pulled her legs up on the sofa Alex again admired the soft supple skin, though tainted with the scratches on her knees. They looked more superficial than they'd looked the night before and he was glad at least physically she was going to be okay.

He gave her the remote and she surfed for a while before settling on the reruns of how I met your mother. They enjoyed their coffee in quiet and he only got up to refill their cups.

”Thank you for yesterday. Also, sorry”, Bethany said and refused to look away from the tv.

”What? You have nothing to be sorry for, Bethany”.

”Yes I do. You probably have a million things to do anyway, I'm sorry I-”

”Hey, hey, now. I'm so glad you called me. All I want is for you to be safe”, Alex said.

”Yeah?”, Bethany asked, looking for confirmation in his eyes.

His whole face softened.

”Yeah”, he confirmed and was happy to see her smile.


	4. Summer stuff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bethany and Alex go swimming. Martha needs emotional support and fun stuff follows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know this is not how real people behave but god I love writing like this

This weekend the kids went to stay with Alex's dad. He was happy to have his dad in good health. He certainly remembered visiting his own grandfather when he was little Beth's age and was happy to let his own kids experience the same. Also, he would see Bethany, so overall it was a win-win.

Alex sat Andy in a feeding chair and allowed Beth to go watch cartoons. She probably shouldn't watch as much tv as she did, but it was the best he could do sometimes.

Coffee poured and a sleeve of vienna fingers set on the table he sat down for the first time whole day. Andy had a plate of fruit in front of him he ate happily. Alex rolled his shoulders and groaned. He could finally relax.

Like really, just chill. Not only were the kids content and quiet for the time-being, but he would have the whole weekend to himself. Well, himself and Bethany, of course, but no kids. He loved them more than life itself but it all got to be too much some weeks and whenever he did, he was incredibly grateful he could bring the kids to grandpa's and just _go._ He didn't realize he was smiling like an idiot, but his dad sure did and inquired about his weekend plans. He usually didn't, and Alex had a feeling that wasn't exactly what he was inquiring.

So he merely skirted around the question, not really giving a definite answer. Just muttered something about the beach, about trying a chicken recipe for some sandwiches. Utter bullshit that might've worked on some, but this was his dad, and dad's knew everything. And old man Vreeke, being the nosy man he was asked if said beach plans involved someone special.

Alex weighed his actions for a moment. He could've lied, that no, there wasn't anyone and he was going to spend the weekend alone, by himself, and his dad wouldn't believe him but probably wouldn't ask more questions either. Then again, technically he could admit that yes, there was someone, as long as he skimmed over details there was no way his dad would ever guess who.So he admitted into having met someone special, but not in _that_ way. That he wasn't dating said woman, but they did spend a lot of time together.

Old man Vreeke only told him that no matter how it was, he was proud and happy for him, but he did want to know why. Why, when Alex was clearly in love with this mystery woman, it still wasn't _romance._ Why settle for a friendship when there could've been more?

Alex let the shame and hurt be seen. This was his dad. If he couldn't talk about his love life, (or lack-there-of, or the uncertainty of it), who could he talk to? So he admitted that she was young, and he didn't want to push her because it wouldn't be fair. That she was the most beautiful person he'd ever met, inside and out, and that she made him feel good. That even though she was young and inexperienced, she happily listened to him talk about his children, that she was the best thing to happen to him in his entire life. But also that because she was so young, and he was the more mature one, he refused to do the first move. He poured his heart out and talked about everything, well, not _everything_ but as much as he could without sounding insane or insanely creepy, and it felt like a weight was being pulled off his chest.

Old man Vreeke listened intently and he saw the love in his sons eyes. He didn't say, but he remembered how Alex had acted when he'd met Sarah. He'd been anxious and scared, and definitely not in love, not like this. He saw the passion burning inside Alex's heart, the way he'd been happier and more energetic since meeting this mystery woman. It was like night and day. And whoever this mystery woman was, well, if she managed to make his son so happy, no matter who she was, he'd already accepted her to the family, and he told Alex just that.

”Thank you, dad”.

They drank their coffee in peace and talked about lesser things such as baseball and soon Alex kissed his kids goodbye for the weekend and left.

The beach seemed like the perfect place to go. Nowhere else would you be so exposed while being so hidden. Within a sea of bodies, scantily dressed, slathered with sunscreen and tanning oil, old and young, glistening in the sun, no one would pay them any mind. They would be perfectly hidden in plain sight.

So they were in Alex's car. He came to pick her up as usual and they were driving at a slow pace. There was no reason to rush, no reason to panic. The whole day was theirs and theirs only, and that knowledge was heavenly in itself.

Both had packed food for a picnic. She had suggested the beach, he had the food. The chicken sandwiches had come out pretty neat, even if he said so himself, and she'd made yogurt parfaits with fruit. Canned coke had become a bit of a thing between them, and oblivious to one another, both had packed coke. She always had diet, he had regular.

Bethany felt unreal with him sometimes, unreal, but in a good way. While she reminded herself that they weren't dating, it would've been impossible not to compare _this_ to what she'd had with Noah.

Noah would've complained about everything. He would've expected her to take care of everything, and while he would've likely driven, he would've kept reminding her that the beach was crap, outsides were crap, people were crap and he would rather be at home. That she was crap for forcing him to go there and he only came because he was such a great boyfriend, but he'd rather be playing video games. Sometimes that was code language for making out, and he would throw a tantrum and pout if she wasn't in the mood. She remembered the many times she'd let him kiss her and touch her just because she didn't want to hear his complaints.

Whenever he actually meant video games as in video games and nothing else, it would be him playing some useless war game alone, blasting the volume up so high she was either forced to watch and be bored out of her mind or resort to checking her facebook and instagram feed. Studying would've been out of the question, he'd call her a nerd and and interrupt her all the time, probably on purpose, and he'd tell her to at least go to the kitchen where she belonged. How she'd put up with that for over a year she didn't understand. Not anymore. That Bethany had been someone else, someone small.

Besides, it was so different with Alex anyway. He was _nothing_ like Noah and Bethany couldn't have been more grateful. Alex must've been so much busier and more overworked than she was, and _still_ he did everything to make sure she was having a good time. He went out of his way to protect and help and make her laugh. It was like a breath of fresh air and made her feel appreciated and alive. Even the beach, he seemed stoked. Excited about the outdoors, the sun and the water. About her. He was driving, content, after making them food and he looked so eager. So eager to spend time with her, do what she'd suggested.

”What'cha smiling about?”, he asked, the same gentle, boyish grin on his face he always had with her, the same grin that almost left her breathless and caused the heat to pool between her legs with such fury the instinct to clench her legs was immediate as was the blush on her cheeks.

”Just happy to be with you”.

It was his turn to be betrayed by his own body, hands clammed up as he gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white, heat shooting right through his core like a lightning. He'd done nothing and she was still looking at him like he'd done everything. She was smiling like this was the best day of her life.

”Me too”.

When they arrived at the beach he realized that his nerves were starting to get a grip. He was happy to be here because it was _her_ and everything was always perfect with _her,_ but when he looked at her he remembered once more of how utterly gorgeous she was. He'd never been very insecure with himself but he was still aware of how incredibly normal he was compared to her. He also wasn't Seaplane, and he knew she would never judge him for it, well, he did. And he could imagine how she looked under her normal clothes. Hell, he'd been thinking about it since she'd asked if he wanted to go to the beach in the first place!

He spread the picnic blanket out so they could go relatively sand free. It was a hot and a sunny day so the ground was warm and dry but it far outdid the job any beach towel would've.

And he was just about to ask her if she wanted a drink, just about to, but the words died out in his mouth as she undid the knot that was the only thing keeping her dress on her body, and he could only stare with his mouth slack when completely oblivious to his (and other men's surrounding her) blatant ogling she let the fabric slip down her body and pool around her feet on the ground and he let out a shaky breath he didn't realize he'd been holding when she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at him with a smile, confident and happy, body like an angel's, hair in soft curls, face radiating with joy.

And at that moment Alex realized two things. One, she far surpassed any and all fantasy versions he'd ever created in his head since he was sixteen and two, he was hard.

Like a fucking teen, he had a boner, caused by a pretty girl in a bikini, and he utilized the position he'd last used when he was 15 and awkwardly as ever lifted his knees to his chest as she sat down next to her. For the sake of his own sanity he chose to believe she hadn't noticed but was pretty fucking paranoid anyway. If she had, she didn't say anything.

It took way too long for his dick to go down. It was embarrassing and the position he'd chosen to hide his little problem was really not working for his back. When his excitement had finally gone down and he laid down, he let out a groan.

They talked and laughed and ate and swam. They laid in the sun and had a great time. Alex caught men ogling at Bethany but quickly found that anyone who did would soon notice him glaring and turn away. He wasn't doing it on purpose and he also wasn't nearly as stealthy about it as he'd thought.

”You don't have to do that, by the way”

Do what? He didn't know what she meant before she took off her sun glasses and looked at him with raised brows and an amused smirk.

”I know you're glaring at anyone who's looking at me”.

And Alex started wondering if she noticed that, had she noticed his boner too?

”It doesn't bother you? The staring?”

”I'm used to it. And it's nice, what you're doing. Just don't feel like you have to”.

Alex didn't stop. He didn't stop glaring at men who looked at her the same way he did, not until she'd pulled on the dress again. He watched her as she pulled the fabric on and it hid her body but he knew he'd remember every inch of it. His hand rested on her waist when they walked off the beach and he opened the door for her like he always did.

***

In August her phone rang. Martha called her and asked her if she'd ever had a pregnancy scare. Who hadn't? Well, for Martha it was a first one and she was a complete mess. Bethany promised to help and drove straight over. She exchanged pleasantries with Martha's mother as if nothing was wrong and then they drove down to the pharmacy. Martha was still crying so Bethany got out of the car and went in with her. It was easier than it sounded like; as long as you had a female pharmacist it was a quiet transaction; quick and guilt free. She'd been there before and she'd hoped that first time she'd had someone help her.

And holding Martha's hand she guided her to the right shelf and pointed the one she thought was best and told her it was best to take two. In case the first one didn't work properly it would be even worse to have to go back in and wait even longer.

Bethany drove them straight to her own place and made tea. Tea always calmed her nerves and Martha would need every ounce of support she could provide if the result of the test was bad news.

Bethany played the events of her own pregnancy scare in her head when Martha was in the bathroom. She remembered the fear, the shame of it. It had been just a few months before Jumanji. Noah and he had been fighting anyway and she never told him she'd taken a test. He wouldn't have wanted anything to do with it and honestly, had she been pregnant she wouldn't have wanted him to be in the kids' life anyway. Noah was a crappy person and she'd always known it.

Martha emerged from the bathroom. Bethany told her it was best to wait in peace instead of staring at the stick the whole time and had Martha sit down and drink the tea. She cringed as she saw her gulp it down as if it wasn't hot as fuck, hoped she didn't burn her tongue. She'd added honey and cold water though, so it wasn't boiling.

She asked is Martha wanted her to check the test, god, she would've wanted that when she did hers. But Martha was not her, she was a lot braver and a lot more independent and went back into the bathroom like a champ. She emerged from it crying happy tears, smiling and shaking her head.

”Both negative”, she'd said and they'd done a small victory dance and hugged. When she stopped crying and Bethany got some Advil in her for her headache soon to come from the crying she'd done they ordered a pizza and watched a movie. Martha wanted to watch Juno and while Bethany didn't even begin to understand why, why the irony of it was so amusing and comforting to Martha, she'd accepted that people were weird like that and that's it. Was it even different than her reading adventure books after Jumanji?

Martha was happy to abandon the pregnancy test in Bethany's bathroom trashcan. She went home and both girls forgot about it soon. Not the scare, not the fear of it and not the glee that had followed the negative result, but the test itself.

And there it still was when Alex was visiting Bethany. After washing his hands in the bathroom he noticed no hand towels (he knew she had only one pair and it was laundry day) he opted for paper instead and his heart jumped to his chest when he opened the trash and saw what was in it right at the top. He _knew_ what that was. Hell, he'd seen his ex wife use one only two years prior.

He almost freaked out. He was ripping out his hair and pacing the floor when he heard her come back in (she was fetching the laundry). So he forced himself to take a few deep breaths and smooth down his hair. They weren't dating, he reminded himself, and she had every right to do what she wanted with her life. No matter how it may have hurt him. Only God knew how many offers she got on a weekly basis, why wouldn't she accept one of them? It didn't sound like Bethany but what else could've explained the pregnancy test in her trash?

They spent the evening together and she noticed he was weird but assumed it must've been stress. If he wanted to talk about it he would.

On the inside he was freaking out a lot more than he gave on, a skill he'd learned in the game and after coming back home.

They didn't see for another week and when they were supposed to meet up on Saturday as they always did, well, faith had other plans. Fridge asked everyone for a barbeque because his parents were out of town and hell, they couldn't just go to some restaurant could they? Four young adults and him. He and Bethany agreed that they wouldn't let anyone know how involved they were. Both were so eager to stay hidden to protect the other one from possible judgement, they were willing to lie.

And so they went to Fridge's place to spend time as a group. He arrived in the same car with Bethany but that could be easily explained by gas prices if it raised questions but it didn't, anyway. It was the first time he'd seen any of them since December except for Bethany and Spencer, who he'd run into at a vintage computer and videogame convention and twice in the grocery store.

He fit in a lot better than he'd expected and momentarily questioned what that said about him, late thirties, hanging out with a bunch of kids like it was the most normal thing in the world, but they weren't really kids, were they? Young adults, more-so, especially his Bethany, and they shared trauma so it played into it too.

And he was having such a nice time and everyone was talking and laughing, and he'd been talking with Spencer about game consoles and geeking out over rare games, and he'd been talking to Fridge about football even though he was more a baseball guy himself, and he'd been talking a bit with the girls too but then he saw it. Well, he thought he saw, and that was _something_ between Bethany and Spencer.

But he didn't have time to dwell on it because Fridge was going on and _on_ about game strategies and differences between baseball and football and it was interesting to his geeky mind and he chose to get immersed in it instead of letting anxiety take over. He didn't want to lose his mind, but the image of a pregnancy test in her bathroom lay heavily on his mind and oh lord, she was now sitting in Spencer's lap!

Bethany was minding her own business and enjoying being reunited as a group. She honestly didn't remember when she'd last seen all of them at once. Fridge had been busy training, Spencer busy doing extra shifts at the gas station he worked at and Martha, well, Martha had been scarce because of summer courses but had seen her just the other night anyway.

And she was sitting in Spencer's lap because it was getting cold as hell outside, August was generally warm but it had been a rainy day and rainy days turned into cool nights. The bench was a bit wet and gross and yes, she'd once been stuck in a jungle but this was the real world and she preferred not to freeze her ass off. And Spencer was like a brother anyway so it was fine. She'd previously sat on Martha's lap too!

Then she felt it. Poking her behind as she adjusted her position because her legs were starting to hurt a little. And she knew _exactly_ what that was, and that this was Spencer, and Alex was sitting right _there_ and Martha, well, _Martha_ was here too, and Bethany yelped and realized everyone turned to see what was wrong.

”What is it?”, the redhead asked, confused.

”Nothing! Just a mosquito”, she tried to brush it off nonchalantly. The group seemed to buy it, turning back into their conversations. Alex didn't. He'd been looking at her the whole time and and after Jumanji he was always hyperaware of mosquitos for a very good reason, and hadn't seen any. Hell, he'd brought his on citronella candles tonight!

He forced himself to continue listening to Fridge still ramble on, no long interested.

Bethany on the other hand had to do something. She saw her chance when Martha excused herself to go to the bathroom.

”Spencer, please tell me that isn't what I think it is”, she whispered.

”Sorry”, Spencer cringed. No use denying it.

”I'm gonna get up in 3. Please, please just hide it, okay?”, she begged. No matter how uncomfortable this was for her she didn't want to embarrass him. This was her bro.

And up she got and went to pour herself a drink. It was funny, drinking juice out of a red solo cup but it calmed her nerves.

Alex had seen the whole thing. He knew exactly what had happened when Spencer pulled his legs up against his chest at an awkward angle. He knew because it was the exact move he'd used to get out of the same embarrassment a couple of months ago. It was a classic; it always worked to hide an unwanted boner.

He was freaking out. What if Spencer was the reason Bethany had had the pregnancy test in her bathroom, what if the two were... How could he _not_ know? Besides wasn't Spencer dating Martha anyway? He pushed everything out of his mind in order not to go positively insane and have a meltdown right there. He counted down from a hundred twice.

They left shortly after; Bethany was complaining about the cold and hell, she was right. So they got out to the driveway and he witnessed Bethany hug all of her friends goodbye. He squeezed the handle of his car door a _bit_ harder when she hugged Spencer.

It was quiet at first, the drive, and Bethany sensed there was something wrong. Alex was freaking out and she didn't know why but knew she had to fix it. She was about to open her mouth but he beat her to it.

”Is there something going on with you and Spencer?”. He had a terrible urge to add, _something i should know about,_ but he didn't. He'd sworn he wouldn't meddle with her life but here he was, breaking that promise just like that. It was far too easy to.

Bethany felt caught but it was _fine_

”You saw that, huh”, she asked sheepishly. He didn't answer, only ground his teeth and gripped the steering wheel so hard it hurt.

”Nothing is going on. He just had a boner, it was an accident”, she supplemented. He wanted to ask her about the pregnancy test but how could he phrase it without sounding like a creep or controlling?? She noticed him suffer to accept the answer as it was.

”Boys will be boys. He's just pent up because since Martha had a pregnancy scare they haven't-”

Wait _what._ He slammed down the breaks in shock and she was startled but didn't realize he was shocked because the test wasn't hers, but only shocked in general.

” _Anyway,_ they haven't had sex since and-”

”Martha's _what_ ”, he asked still in shock before it clicked in his head. He also momentarily questioned why she was so invested in her friend's sex lives but girls were a different species probably.

”Yeah. It was totally scary, honestly a mood-”

”Excuse me?”, he asked. It was getting bizarre. Was he going insane?

”I mean, been there, not that it would be possible _now_ ”. Well, that was all he needed to hear to start acting like a human being again and continued driving. He listened to her ramble on about Martha and he tried to listen because this was obviously important her but he failed miserably. The only thoughts he had room for were that Bethany was not having a secret affair and Spencer probably wasn't _the worst._


	5. Next level

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Into the jungle! Again...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this is where Next Level happens. I wanted to include it but tried not to write too much about it because I just can't be bothered to write the whole plot in here. I could've, but I'm really heading towards a writer's block (i can just feel all the creativity draining out) and wanted to get to the end so bad so I could finish this and not have to wait until a new burst of motivation or obsession hits. Sorry if it's shitty lol

And so summer turned into autumn and a lot of changes happened. Spencer, Martha and Fridge all left for university and went their separate ways but not Bethany. Bethany stayed and started working full time at the bookstore and she and Alex continued their secret meetings. She wanted to meet the kids but was scared to bring it up. Besides it was kind of cosy and fun, the secrecy. It was them against the world and whenever they were together it was like the whole world just stopped existing around them.

Autumn passed quickly. It was dark and rainy and the days looked the same; she fell into a routine even more now that she wasn't seeing her friends anymore. Work Monday to Friday, spend Saturday and Sunday with Alex. Sometimes coffee on Tuesdays but that was it. September through November, nothing changed.

They spent more and more time in each other's homes though. They didn't go to restaurants or Ada's anymore. It was a lot nicer to stay at home, more domestic and romantic (well, she thought so, even if he still hadn't as much as touched her save for some hugging). Still, candle dinners were performative and she wasn't about all that anymore, and they couldn't be fully themselves anywhere else but at home anyway so she was really happy to not go out.

Bethany kept a framed photo in her living room. It was a quick snap Martha had taken of him and her, sat next to each other at Fridge's yard. She was looking at him and he was looking at her smiling, and even if the photo was shaken and it had been taken in a shitty lighting, it was her favourite photo ever. His too, heart beating a little quicker everytime he saw it, and he had the same photo on his phone, but he wished he'd have the courage to display it framed in his home, just like that. He had countless photos of her in his phone actually; some taken by him, some were selfies, and she was equally wonderful in every single one of them. He looked at them more often than he cared to admit. He wanted to frame a bunch of them actually, but most desperately the same one she'd already displayed in her own apartment.

But he couldn't. No, because if he had a framed photo of her in his home, that would lead to questions. His cousin was sure to ask about something like that and hell, what could he say? _Oh yes, that's the 18-year-old I'm pining after_. He wasn't even worried about his cousin's opinion but word traveled fast in a town like this. Besides it wasn't so much about what people would say about _him,_ he was scared what people would say about her. He still remembered the first time they'd had coffee, at that awful place he'd picked (he still cringed thinking about it) and she'd been accused of being a prostitute. The woman had only attacked Bethany. The worst he'd gotten was being accused of being a sugardaddy, which wasn't even an insult. Not these days.

”What's on your mind?”, Bethany inquired. Alex had been stuck staring at her shelf and then into nothing and he was clearly tormented by _something._

”Remember when we were driving to Mocha Aroma and you told me you wished we didn't have to hide?”

”How could I forget”.

”I'm thinking about that”.

She had him sit down then and talk. And he did, rambled on endlessly about how important this friendship was to him and how much he just wanted to be out with it. How he wanted to go to any place and not be met with assumptions and judgement and how he just wanted to keep her safe, and sure, he was a little afraid of being seen as a creep, but he was more-so worried about her and her safety and well-being. She held his hand through his monologue and was drawing little random figures on his palm with her finger and it kept him calm and grounded through opening his heart in a way he'd never done before.

She was speechless after. He spoke of her so highly it was almost too much to bear, and she buried herself into his lap and he held her before she pulled away and smiled at him blindingly.

”We'll take it one step at a time, yeah?”.

He agreed.

Another week went by without any change. They hadn't _really_ talked in-depth about how they were going to do this, go out in the real world, but they'd agreed to take it slow. Until the damned _game_ decided to meddle once more.

Bethany would've never under any normal circumstances disrespected Alex this much. She'd assumed he'd introduce her to his family when he was ready (kids were probably not the first thing on the list of going public with a friendship like theirs) and she never wanted to impose like this.

But the choice was made _for_ her.

She parked the car hastily and barely managed to lock it before she was already at the door. The car wasn't even hers, it was Fridge's, and it had a normal key which she could barely operate with her shaky fingers.

 _Here we go then,_ she thought and sighed. It felt unreal, knowing she'd probably meet his kids now. _Finally,_ but _so soon_ at the same time. She rang the doorbell and prayed it would be he who answered, no one else. But not all prayers are always answered and it was Alex's daughter who opened the door. She looked at her wide-eyed and curious. _May god or whatever have mercy._

”Bethany?”, she asked, although she was fully aware that was the child's name.

”Yup?”

”My name's Bethany too”

”Really? Daddy! Her name is Bethany too!”, Beth declared happily, gesturing towards her.

”Huh?” Alex arrived at the door, shock and confusion written all over his face. When he saw her, she cringed apologetically but he didn't look angry, just surprised but also happy to see her. ”Sure is, sweety”, Alex confirmed and placed a hand on Beth's shoulder.

”Can I talk to you for a minute?”, Bethany asked and reality sunk in for him. He knew she wouldn't just barge in without texting unless something was actually wrong.

”Sure, yeah. Come in”. And she did.

”Are you daddy's girlfriend??”, Beth asked enthusiastically. Bethany was thrown for a loop and could only manage to clear her throat and make a sound that sounded something like _huh_ meanwhile Alex, used to dealing with his kid, dove head straight in with bribery.

”Beth, what do you say, if I let you watch one more episode of Dora?”, he offered.

”Really?”, little Beth squealed, older Bethany already the second interesting thing.

"Yeah. Just be quiet, we don't want to wake up your brother”.

With that little Beth was on her way to the living room and Alex lead Bethany to his home office where they were sheltered but he could still somewhat keep an eye on his kid.

”What happened?”, Alex asked once he'd let Bethany sit down.

”They went back in!”

”Back in??”, Alex was completely confused. The look of desperation on her face was quickly mirrored in his when it dawned on him.

”Why? I thought you destroyed the game-”

”Me too! But Spencer, I think he fixed it and went back in, and we were gonna go rescue him but-” Alex lifted his eyebrows comically, as if he'd heard incorrectly.

”Ex-Excuse me? You're telling me you were gonna go back into the game without telling anyone??”, he raised his voice, but shut his eyes and brushed his fingers through his hair to calm down. He had an increasing want to pace around but forced himself to stay put.

”He's like a brother to me”, she justified.

”Fair enough, but you should've called me first”.

”You're right, sorry. Anyway, we tried to get back in. Fridge and Martha did but it wouldn't take me. It fried my phone though, couldn't call you before barging in”.

”Oh no, no, it's okay. I'm glad you came”.

”Do you think you can help me to get the machine to start?”

He hesitated and sighed. He had a lot more to lose this time around. He'd changed. He was no longer the reckless teen who hadn't given two fucks about anyone or anything or didn't fear death half as much as he should've. He was a dad now and hell, he didn't want to go back to the place he'd gotten so many nightmares from. But he couldn't let Bethany go alone either, and he knew if he didn't go, she would still try to.

”That is so dangerous”, was his final attempt at trying to change her mind. A weak, unsuccessful attempt and he could feel the nausea set in his stomach already. He already knew how this was going to fold out.

”I know, but I have to try. They're my team”.

”Fine. I'll do it. Anything for you”. She smiled, stood up and pulled him into a hug. She muttered a thank you to his chest just for a moment stayed there, listening to his heartbeat. It gave her strength and it must've given him strength too.

”First things first, I need to take the kids somewhere. I'm gonna call Mary real quick. You can go to the living room, if you want to”. Bethany had a feeling it was more of an encouragement, him giving her the green light than just allowing her to. She was officially in his life now, not just a secret friend but actually a someone. Someone his kids knew by name.

So she walked into the living room where little Beth was watching Dora the explorer. The show looked a lot different than it had when she'd been a kid, but it was probably for the best. And as it turns out, little Beth was a proper multitasker as she was simultaneously drawing something. Bethany was quiet for while before realizing that she was the adult and a kid her age couldn't have been that scary. Not even if they thought you were dating their father. 

”Hey. What'cha drawing?”, Bethany asked.

”Wanna see?”

”Yeah”.

It was a drawing of a Christmas tree surrounded by people. It was so cute that Bethany smiled , really smiled.

”Who's in it?”, she asked. Why she'd been nervous, she didn't know. Her little brother was around the same age so it worked out just fine.

”That's me”, Beth pointed a figure dressed in a pink dress. ”That's dad. That's Andy, and that's you!”, she explained excitedly and Bethany almost started to cry. Would it really be this easy to be included in his life? She then saw Alex in the doorway, leaning against its frame, a smile plastered across his face too.

”So?”, Bethany asked him. He told Beth he'd packed her a bag because she'd be having a sleepover at Auntie's again. The kid was elated, and Bethany wondered if she ever ran out of energy.

Turns out she did. Once they'd loaded the car, Beth fell right asleep on the backseat. Andy had never even woken up, despite being dressed and put into the car seat. It was finally quiet for a moment.

”I'm sorry they had to find out like this”, Bethany apologized.

”Don't be. I'm glad they did, besides seems Beth has already accepted you fully”, Alex encouraged.

The drive was as comfortable as it could be. Not every day you learned you were going to return to a place where you once died. Bethany would've stayed in the car, but Alex couldn't exactly carry two kids and their bags alone so she offered her help. He accepted.

And Bethany felt nervous when he ringed the doorbell but the friendliest looking woman opened the door and she no longer felt so frightened. The woman looked a lot like Alex, and she concluded this had to be Mary. They'd hardly set foot inside when another woman appeared, just as kind looking.

”Look what we have here, little Bea”, Mary cooed while scooping the sleeping little girl up to carry. The other woman reached for Andy's car seat and Bethany handed it over.

”Mary, Linda, meet Bethany”, Alex introduced and Bethany felt overjoyed when both women merely looked at her with interest and glee, zero judgement. Both offered their hands for a shake and exchanged pleasantries that would've been meaningless otherwise but to her, they were everything. She wasn't looked at with disgust but instead, excitement, and that was the best case scenario she hadn't even dared to hope for.

”Sorry we can't stay, it's an emergency”, Alex said. He didn't explain further but Bethany had a feeling he didn't have to, as an air of peace, trust and acceptance seemed to just exist around the place. In that moment Bethany felt extremely relieved before reminding herself what was to come.

They left and drove straight to Spencer's and quickly ran into trouble. The door was locked! Then Alex did something that made Bethany absolutely swoon. He asked her if she had a hair pin, and she handed him one. He bent it over itself and snapped it right into two pieces with his _bare hands_ and picked the lock right open.

”Wow”, she breathed out and he grinned at her boyishly. She got momentarily distracted by his mouth but he was already pulling her inside by her hand and asked him to show where the console was. She lead him through the kitchen down the stairs into the dark basement. The light had burned out when her phone had.

To their complete surprise nothing seemed to be wrong with the console. Well, apart from the obvious, as it was clearly fucking _cursed._ It was already throwing out little bolts of electricity before they got even close to it. Seemed the game had chosen not to take Bethany without Alex. They were a team now.

”Ready?”, Alex asked. She couldn't speak, merely nodded and grabbed his hand harder. They stepped closer to the machine and it started on it's own. They weren't allowed to choose their characters and Bethany could only hope she'd end up in Shelly.

Well, it was worse than she could've imagined. When she realized she was in, she couldn't feel her dick. Funny, how it was the first thing she thought of, and not Shelly's stomach or beard but so be it. Then she realized she couldn't feel those either, and when she saw Alex, or Seaplane staring at her, she got really worried. And when she tried to speak and couldn't she absolutely panicked. A _sound_ came out of her mouth but it was certainly not _human._ Alex seemed to realize what was going on first.

”Hey, hey. It's okay. Bethany?”, he called out, walked towards her with open palms and she stopped shrieking. She took a step towards him and stumbled as if she'd had three legs and crashed straight to the ground. Alex was by her in an instant and when he touched her she realized something was incredibly wrong. She could feel him touching her hair but his hand was not nearly where it should've been.

”Good girl”, he muttered and Bethany closed her eyes and focused on breathing. He would take care of her, she knew it.

”I don't know how to tell you this but, uh, you're not Shelly”, Alex said. _You think,_ was all she wanted to say but it came out as something else entirely and she was ready to freak the fuck out once again but tried to hold onto his voice to stay in control. ”Okay, I'll uh- I'll spit it right out. Your avatar is a horse”, he said.

 _What?_ When she didn't respond, Alex got weird and started questioning himself. ”You are Bethany right? Or am I talking to a random horse?”, he asked himself, but she nudged her face forward against his head and he recognized her. His soul was linked to hers and it was clearer now more so than ever. This was still _his_ Bethany.

And surely Nigel appeared out of thin air, scaring him to death.

”Ah, welcome to Jumanji! Jefferson McDonough, Cyclone, it's good to see you! For the time being your mission is a simple one, find Dr. Smoulder Bravestone's team and rescue them. Be quick or you might just be too late! You must travel up North past the village until you come across a sea of bridges. Cross none, wait and strike! I have also provided you with some money, spend it wisely”,

It was a lot to take in, but both Alex and Bethany listened intently.

”How much time-” Alex was about to ask but Nigel started his monologue from the beginning.

”Okay. I guess we have to get going then”, Alex said to Bethany who stood up and tried her legs. They started walking but she realized soon that they were way too slow. She stopped and motioned with her head for him to climb on.

”What? I'm not getting on your back, Bethany”, Alex said as if it was the most obvious thing. But when she refused to budge, and hit the ground with her front leg Alex could basically see the real Bethany staring at her with an impression that communicated _really._

”Okay, but if I'm too heavy, just drop me. I'll survive”, he said. Bethany knelt down in front of him.

She was surprised of how light he seemed, she could hardly feel his weight. She was also surprised how utterly good it felt when he caressed her hair again and wrapped his arms around her neck. Alex was surprised how steadily she walked right from the start, as if it was meant to be. It was as though she was actually doing better _with_ him on. He found it too easy to forget that he probably shouldn't be touching her the way he did, clinging to her, petting her, playing with the soft hair. He allowed himself to. If she minded, she would let him know.

They stopped in a village, up North. The money that had appeared in his pocket was not much and he must've looked like an idiot, asking a horse whether to buy something or not, but who the fuck even cares? These weren't real people. Not like him and her were. Quickly they exited the town and kept going.

When they arrived at the gorge, filled with bridges, it was already mission impossible. He could see all the characters running and jumping around, Bravestone, Mouse Finbar, Ruby, and _Shelly Oberon_ running from a pack of rabid baboons. He also noticed that _Cyclone_ was not the only new character and saw a tiny monk, or maybe a ninja, or a confusing mix of the two.

Bethany drove head straight into battle when the group had managed to escape the bridges to level ground but got surrounded by the beasts. Alex was forced to follow considering he was riding her and he focused only on hanging on as she fought, and the baboons escaped. He threw on a confident smile that was much easier to do in Seaplane's body than it would've been in his own (hell, he was twenty again, muscular and handsome, and Seaplane the avatar, in the same way that had made him capable of making killer margaritas the first round, had given him killer confidence this round.

”Hey guys”, Alex grinned at the group and quickly got confused when who he assumed was Spencer asked who the hell he was. It was comical, having to explain to Ruby, who Alex was quite certain was still Martha, that Bethany was a horse this time around. Mouse Finbar managed to translate Bethany _perfectly_ but Alex knew for sure that that wasn't Fridge.

They got to walking to find a safe place to set up a camp and introductions were made. Alex learned that Spencer was now a girl ninja monk, Fridge was stuck inside Shelly, and both Mouse and Bravestone were old men, Spencer's grandpa and an old friend of his. Martha was still Ruby, though.

Fridge was complaining like hell. Everyone was absolutely done with him but no one wanted to start anything so they let him. When they finally set camp Spencer tied Fridge's ankle and Martha started asking him about the clothes. Why she and others were so surprised he'd gone shopping, he didn't know.

They were working on a plan, or trying to, and Fridge went off. Full melt-down, and Alex hated to admit, while his words were harsh, he had a point. And then he fell down from the rock he was sitting on and everyone ran to see if he was still alive.

He was, but that's not what Alex was smiling about. He knew what water that looked like that meant. He'd heard stories of it. He might have his Bethany, well, his Sheldon-bodied Bethany back sooner than expected!

”Go on then, good girl. See you again in a second”, Alex whispered to Bethany. It was the second time he'd called her good girl and he for the love of it couldn't understand why Seaplane made him say it. He'd never been inclined to do so before, but the game did that to you. Messed with your head real good, until you didn't know where you stopped and the character started.

And into the water the group went, everyone but him and Martha. He prayed it would work, there was no use in getting into freezing water in the middle of snow unless absolutely important.

Shelly hugged herself and exclaimed ”Yes! I missed you so much!” and sure enough, she felt the dick, the stomach, the beard, but it was a hundred times better than being a horse. Besides it was fun to be round for a second. It would make her appreciate herself that much more when she came back to her own body.

She saw Alex and when she expected butterflies to take over, they didn't. Seaplane was handsome but she found that he still didn't have half the effect the real Alex did.

Alex was relieved to have her back. He had been worried being a horse would've had some lasting impact on her but he was quite certain now it hadn't. And how Shelly looked instantly so much more feminine, so much more happy than when Fridge had been in was an incredible transformation.

The next thing they concerned themselves with was a fire. They needed heat. Firewood was easier to come by than Alex would've expected and he saw Bethany, still dressed in cold wet clothes, still with a sprained ankle, collecting her fair share. He found a lighter in his pocket and made good use of it.

When everyone was dressed warmly and snuggled in front of the fire, the group took a moment to catch up. Bethany was super excited over seeing Spencer but strangely, Alex couldn't find a single jealous cell in his body. He'd grown so comfortable with her that he trusted things would click in place eventually. Man, being in Seaplanes body gave him mad confidence but he didn't complain.

Alex went outside to take a leak, but what he found was not good. He couldn't see Spencer's grandfather or his mate anywhere, but he did see tracks in the snow. Multiple tracks, as in multiple people. The two old men had been abducted. 

They did come up with a plan after that discovery; they were forced to. They couldn't afford to rest and risk some of their company actually _dying_ because they were slow.

The events unfolded after that so fast that they didn't even register properly. Whether it was his age or Seaplane's newfound super confidence, he didn't stop to dwell on things and instead pushed on. Challenge after challenge, task after task. He just pushed on. The only time he stopped to think was when he had to leave Bethany behind but honestly, that girl had _brains_ as well as looks. Seaplane's confidence in Alex did reach out to others as well.

He even died twice but still pushed on, not a thought given to his final life. And he was so glad, so incredibly glad when he saw Shelly. The rest of the group was okay as well, but Bethany was all he cared about that moment. She looked exhausted, and her overall appearance wasn't his cup of tea but this was _his_ Bethany, clear as day. Everyone else was okay too and they had _won._ They had won _again_ and they were going home!

He'd have to talk serious sense into Spencer though. Honestly, he got the appeal, video games were cool and Jumanji was a real enigma, he _also_ wanted to know how it worked. But he'd restrained himself from inspecting further because even though the game was terrible and scary, it was still tempting. A part of him had missed this; the jungle, the adrenaline, the friendship. Missed looking like Seaplane, too.

But alas, it wasn't real and he was so relieved when he shook Nigel's hand and felt the familiar pull of it, saw the bright white light. And sooner than he realized he was in his own body; dad-bod and all, and he was _glad._ In the game he'd felt almost sixteen again and while his own body wasn't quite as fast, strong or nimble, he loved to be back and feeling like himself again. Then he saw _her._


	6. Good things come to those who wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Bethany navigate the world day after returning from the game.

”Bethany?”, Alex breathed out, voice broken as he reached for the girl. She was in front of him in an instant and there it was again, that magnetic pull, stronger than ever. Hands cradling her face Alex took a real good look at her to make sure she was okay and also to cherish her features. He'd missed her, god, she was ethereal. Nothing could ever compare.

He pressed his lips on her forehead and after buried his nose in her hair. Her sweet scent was so lovely he nearly groaned but it kept him grounded. She slipped her arms around his torso and took a deep breath in; The smell of his cologne, the one _she'd_ bought him was all the convincing she needed that this was the real world, they were safe and hopefully for good this time. She was so grateful they'd made.

Spencer was embracing Martha, Fridge was stretching his back (hell, he could almost _feel_ being shrunk and then growing back up) but all of them saw the way Alex and Bethany were acting together. Everyone had questions but none dared to interrupt what was clearly incredibly intimate, romantic or not. It for sure _seemed_ romantic, though, especially the way Bethany was still holding onto Alex's hand when they walked upstairs.

Alex checked the calendar; for whatever reason the game had spat the whole group up at the same time, that time being when Alex and Bethany went in.

Alex determined he couldn't exactly go get his kids an hour after dropping them off and he was _spent._ As in, he needed twelve hours of sleep -level tired. When they drove off Bethany told him she didn't want to be alone tonight and honestly he didn't blame her one bit. He didn't either.

He had actually made her a bed in the guestroom after _that_ night last summer and kept it clean and with fresh sheets, but when she fell asleep right on the couch he didn't have the heart to wake her up. Instead he brought her a blanket and gently tucked her in.

She woke up from a nightmare. The same nightmare she'd had ever since getting out for the first time. Alex died and she couldn't save him – and she'd gotten better about it over the year, she would simply look at his picture to know he was alive. But everything had been changed. So what she decided to do, once she'd checked the clock (four in the morning, too early to get up), was to tiptoe upstairs to his room just to take a peek and see he was alive, and come back downstairs. To see that the second round of the game hadn't taken him away from her. And then pretend nothing had happened.

Her plan was fool-proof, just walk over there, see, and come back down. But when a floorboard creaked under her feet she heard him calling from the kitchen. And sure enough there he was, sat on the counter and eating cereal straight out of the box.

”Couldn't sleep?”, she asked, relieved he was alive and well.

”No. Nightmares”.

”Tell me about it”.

It was a figure of speech of course, but they did talk. He got the coffee machine running and soon they had big cups of milky coffee in front of them in the living room. She told him about her reoccurring dream; she tried to save him but was unsuccessful, and he told her about his, where she falls off a plane with only one life left.

Sun rose and the day begun. They cooked breakfast and both showered; she had to make-do with his shampoo and a borrowed shirt (his dad had shrunk one of his band shirts in the dryer) and she honestly rocked it; she tied it at her waist to give it some shape and he stumbled over his own feet when she came to the living room, smiling brightly.

Eventually they left to get the kids. Alex saw no reason to hide her anymore, his cousin had met her, and soon his dad would know. Also her friends probably knew too, so there was that. They were officially out and while it hadn't gone at all like they'd planned, well, it had still went well.

It was around one in the afternoon when they arrived; Andy woke up around this time from his nap and Beth would be getting out of kindergarten soon. He parked the car and spotted Linda smoking a cigarette outside. His plan was to just get Andy and get going, but she had other plans.

”Hell no mister, as if we're letting you go that easily. Invite your little girlfriend inside, or I will do it for you”, Linda said.

”She's not- we're not-. I'm sure she'd love to, but-”

”Suit yourself”, said Linda, who walked straight up to the car and Alex was powerless as he witnessed Bethany roll down the window to discuss with his cousin's wife, then roll the window up and exit the car. Mary also exited the house to see if he'd arrived. She looked at Bethany and Linda with a curious grin.

The secret was really _out_ and he didn't know what to make of it.

”You didn't have to do as she says, you know”, Alex said and Bethany grinned.

”Sorry but she promised me eclairs. How could I refuse that?”, she asked and Mary laughed.

”Now, that's a keeper, Alex!”.

The lot made their way into the living room and sat down.

”So, how long have you two been dating secretly?” Mary asked and Alex almost spat out his coffee, anxious for how Bethany would react. It was one thing to ask him that alone, and entirely another thing to ask that with her _right there._

”Sorry to disappoint, but we're friends”, Bethany said, not giving away any info.

”None of that, we don't judge here”, Linda said knowingly. Alex wish he could've disappeared. Why couldn't they just let it go?

”We haven't really gotten that far yet, then”, Bethany said and Alex swallowed. Did that mean that she _had_ been considering it? Had considered dating _him,_ Alex, who did not look like Seaplane, who was not dashing, young and muscular, who had children and a failed marriage behind him?

”Well, well. Good things come to those who wait, right?”, Linda said kindly.

”Well, unless you wait too long” Mary pointed out.

Bethany didn't answer, just smiled.

”By the way, Beth couldn't stop talking about daddy's new girlfriend”, Mary continued.

Alex cringed at that. He was already worried about his cousins scaring Bethany away with their forwardness, let alone his over-energetic daughter. But then he remembered the way Bethany had connected with Beth yesterday. He had nothing to worry about in terms of that.

”Yeah, she went on and on about how cool and pretty you are”, Linda said.

”She's not wrong though”, Mary winked. Bethany blushed at the praise.

”She was happy. Really, Alex, you shouldn't have kept it a secret so long, especially not from your cousin or own daughter”, Mary accused.

”Well I-” Alex started but was interrupted by Andy who started crying in the next room where he'd been napping. Linda got up to get the child while Mary continued asking questions, starting with demanding to know how Alex and Bethany had met. Alex blanked; how the hell was he supposed to explain that hey, twenty years ago i was inside an alternative reality which i was in yesterday also, and i met a girl from the future that wasn't even born yet, in a man's body, and fell for her, then waited twenty years fantasizing about her to come back?? He wasn't used to lying. Thankfully Bethany seemed to have an idea.

”Well, I work in a bookstore and one day he just stumbled in, and we got to talking. Short and sweet, but nothing too fancy i'm afraid”,

”Are you kidding, that's so romantic! Eek, Linda, can you imagine they met in a book store?!”, Mary squealed when Linda walked in with the child.

”Hey buddy”, Alex said when he got the toddler in his lap.

”Dada”, the kiddo babbled and reached for a hug. When the kiddo pointed at Bethany and made a surprised face, Alex held his breath. 

”Hi there”, Bethany, next to him, cooed. And Andy was a little hesitant at first, but quickly responded to her smile and babytalk anyway. Alex had to swallow tears; he fell in love with her once more.

When he heard a camera go off, he looked at his cousin accusingly. What the fuck was that about?

”Not dating, my ass”, the woman huffed.

”Well, I ship it”, Linda concluded. Bethany just grinned at him, content.

After coffee Alex dropped Bethany off at her apartment. She had promised to meet up with her friends later tonight and wanted to catch up on some sleep. Alex had a lot less relaxing day ahead of him; he had to face his daughter and answer the endless questions she probably had.

But honestly, after almost dying? He couldn't wait to have both kids home and just enjoy the life he had built for himself.

And Beth did ask questions. Lots of them, if daddy was in love, if Bethany was spending Christmas with them. He didn't have all the answers but kids were resilient and Beth seemed fully okay even if a strange woman had just waltzed in through their front door yesterday and her dad told her that that's just how things were gonna be from now on.

Bethany on the other hand couldn't sleep at all. She was worried sick of how Alex was getting on. She eventually gave up sleeping and spent her day reading books instead, although she did stop to talk with Alex on the phone when he called to let her know it had went well, talking with Beth.

When Bethany finally arrived at Nora's, she was overtired and still uneasy from the game, but she was excited to see her friends anyway. And she wanted to know everything about New York and Fridge's new girlfriend, but she found herself being the center of attention tonight.

”So you and Alex-”, Martha started.

”Yeah, what's that about?”, Fridge continued.

”We've been hanging out, that's all”, She answered. How could she even begin telling her friends that she was in love with the man? She started picking off little pieces of nail polish but smiled sheepishly at her friends. She would've wanted to know everything too, if any of her friends were in her situation.

”Hanging out, huh”, Martha chuckles.

”Since when?”, Spencer interjected. He had been quiet and wanted to not be rude or pushy but he was only human; curiosity was only natural.

Bethany lied. She lied through her teeth but they believed her anyway. It's not like she could admit that they'd been hanging out since February, and she'd already told a lie today, so she stuck to it. Just in case her friends ever met Mary and Linda (however slim a chance that was, but still). So she explained that last summer he came to her bookshop and they started talking. And she asked him for a cup of coffee and the rest was history.

”But you're just friends?”, Martha asked for confirmation.

”It did _not_ look like just friendship to me”. It was Fridge who spoke, but the whole lot looked like they agreed.

”Well, it is what it is. I don't think, I don't think he sees me like I see him. Who knows”

”So you _do_ want to date him?”, Martha wondered.

”Yeah. I really do”, she admitted. There's no use lying about that. It's all good, they're all adults. Well, she hoped so, and if someone had a problem with it she'd always choose Alex anyway.

”That's amazing”, Martha commented with a dreamy look in her eyes.

”I called it the first time in that jungle”, Fridge said proudly and Bethany smacked his arm.

”Uh, correction! You said that he'd like to tap me-”

”Actually, one night he actually told me he was positive there was something up. He also knew about me and Martha before we did”, Spencer defended his friend.

”Huh, see! Fridge, the official love expert of Jumanji”, Fridge self-declared, and the group burst out laughing so loud Bethany was sure they'd be kicked out or asked to be quieter.

The conversation went on and Bethany flipped out her phone, to text Alex that she'd told her friends the same thing she'd told Mary. The _ok_ he sent as a response made panic rise in her chest – was she not supposed to tell anyone? Was he upset? She'd assumed, when he'd held her in front of the others earlier and allowed his cousin to meet her that he'd be ready to stop hiding.

Then his face appeared on the broken screen (it was her old phone) and her heart jumped to her throat. She excused herself and slipped outside to answer. Honestly it wouldn't have been such a big deal but she was so on the edge, still. It was hard to adjust to real world where you didn't have to be scared of dying all the time and you could let down your guard. Shock hadn't fully worn off yet.

”Was I not supposed to tell them?”, she asked, tears ready to fall.

”What?”, he sounded surprised.

”You're mad because I told them about us-”

”Breathe, Bethany. I'm not mad. I just wanted to know if you needed a drive home” He didn't admit he missed her and couldn't stop pacing in an effort to try to calm himself. He _had_ to see her or he'd go mad.

”Oh, Jesus. I got so worried there. Never scare me like that again, Alex”.

”Sorry. I just need to see you”. He didn't have to elaborate why.

”Yeah. Think you can be here in 20? Wait, what about-”

”At my dad's”.

”Ok, see you in 20”.

Alex got there in 15. He stood up from his car and made his way inside Nora's, not caring about anyone seeing them together. Not anymore. Returning to Jumanji had turned a switch somewhere in his brain. Being Seaplane and Shelly Oberon again had made him sure of it; they were absolutely meant to be. He walked inside with confidence as if he owned the place and she rose up, about to say hello like a normal person when he pulled her into a crushing hug and just held her there for a moment, and yes, people were staring and no, he didn't care and buried his nose in her hair as if he always did that. If someone looked at them funny, well, he frankly just couldn't care less.

”Hi”, she said shyly and bit her lip as she looked at him with curious eyes.

”Hi yourself”, he said. His palm cradled her cheek he ever-so-slightly pressed his thumb on her lower her lip so she'd release it from between her teeth. He could've kissed here then and there, god knows he wanted to. But he pulled away instead, but refused to look away for a moment, telling her with his eyes it was not over. They would continue _this,_ whatever it was, later.

He turned to look at the rest of the guys and he swallowed. They were staring at him. Of course they were.

”Uh, hi you guys”. He said awkwardly but refused to let go off Bethany's waist. Not when her presence was the only thing that stopped him from bursting into tears.

”You're the _man_ bro.”, Fridge said grinned.

”Uh, thanks”. Alex had no idea what he was talking about at first but realized soon. What it must've looked like, him bursting through the door, pretty much grabbing Bethany and not letting go.

”So it's official now?”, Martha asked, an ounce of Ruby Roundhouse still in her as she smirked. Spencer had always been the most respecting of everyone's privacy and nudged his girlfriend.

”Uh-”, Alex said and licked his lip, seemingly uncomfortable.

”I think we'll talk about it. Right, Alex?”, Bethany looked at him with soft, hopeful eyes.

He managed a shaky nod.

With that they said their goodbyes and Bethany and Alex left together, his hand still on her waist. They walked to his car and he caressed her cheek before letting her go inside the vehicle.

”So?”, she asked when he sat on the drivers seat.

”Yeah?”. Honestly he had no idea how to start a discussion like this. And he still wanted her to make the first move.

”I like you Alex. Ever since we first met. You just had that _something._ And I know I'm just 19 and I _get it_ if you don't see me that way but Alex, all I'll ever want is you”. She was crying and scared of rejection but it had to be said. Hope may have been dangerous but it was also incredibly strong.

”Bethany Walker”, he spoke her name so carefully as if it was the most beautiful thing to ever escape his mouth, like saying her name was a love confession in itself. He cradled Bethany's face between his hands too, forced her to look him in the eye as he continued.

”You're my everything. You can never understand how desperately I longed for you for twenty years and how happy I was when you came back”

A single tear escaped her and he wiped it off with his thumb.

”I can't imagine life without you”.

”Bethany, I-”

And she kissed him. She kissed him and god, he kissed her back like his life depended on it and before he knew it she was climbing into his lap and he had his arms around her as she absolutely ravaged him with her mouth.

And then her heat found his hardness and she grinded against him and he saw stars but had the good sense to push her away then. They were in a parking lot, for Christ's sake and he was a sap but he'd waited for this so long he wanted to make it special, and if not _fancy,_ then at least in a _bed._

She looked at him as if he'd rejected her and he surged forward with a kiss on the corner of her mouth.

”I want you, god, I want you”, he said and kissed her once, purposefully kept her body from coming flush against his again. ”But not here, darling” he muttered. And as much as Bethany hated not having him right here, right now, she agreed with him.

And then she saw it. Was that a- no. It couldn't have been.

”Alex, tell me I'm hallucinating”

And he turned his head and indeed he thought he was hallucinating too because right then an impossibly large bird ran past his car.

And then there were hundreds of them.

 _Here we go again,_ was all she thought as she clung to him in terror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I managed it. An actual story with a beginning and an end. It isn't the longest thing I've ever written but it's certainly the first long thing that I've ever finished... I'm honestly so proud of how it turned out even though I'm freaking out about some parts.


End file.
